Bobby Sands leaves Benn in tears
Tony Benn broke down in tears at the Edinburgh Book Festival as he recalled the late Bobby Sands, the republican MP who died while on hunger strike in the Maze prison, Belfast, in 1981. “Our revenge, Bobby Sands said, will be the laughter of our children,” he said, as tears began to stream down his cheeks. “I’m sorry, but it moves me greatly”.
He also warned his daughter Melissa, sitting in the audience, that she will not thank him when he dies for leaving her to deal with his vast personal archive, which includes leaflets he posted through letterboxes during the 1935 general election. He recalled his grandmother’s words as she approached the end of her life: “The great thing about your last journey is that you don’t have to pack”.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
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Friday, August 15, 2008
Man banned from sex at love nest
Man banned from sex at love nest
A man has been banned by a court from having sex with his partner at her home after keeping neighbours awake with loud shouting and banging in the night.
The mind boggles. What was he doing, beating a drum and shouting through a megaphone "In Out, In Out..." to strokes like in the Oxford Cambridge boat race?
A man has been banned by a court from having sex with his partner at her home after keeping neighbours awake with loud shouting and banging in the night.
The mind boggles. What was he doing, beating a drum and shouting through a megaphone "In Out, In Out..." to strokes like in the Oxford Cambridge boat race?
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Bridget Prentice MP misleads Parliament
Bridget Prentice MP misleads Parliament
Bridget Prentice, Labour, Member of Parliament for Lewisham East and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, has misled Parliament with this answer. The Governance of Britain Green Paper and the Goldsmith Review have nothing whatsoever to do with convicted prisoners human right to vote. Whatever shake up is going on elsewhere is totally irrelevant to the ECtHR decision in Hirst v UK (No2).
Failing Bridget Prentice clarifying her answer to show the relevance of the Prisoners Votes Case to the Governance of Britain Green Paper and the Goldsmith Review, she should do the honourable thing and resign.
Bridget Prentice, Labour, Member of Parliament for Lewisham East and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, has misled Parliament with this answer. The Governance of Britain Green Paper and the Goldsmith Review have nothing whatsoever to do with convicted prisoners human right to vote. Whatever shake up is going on elsewhere is totally irrelevant to the ECtHR decision in Hirst v UK (No2).
Failing Bridget Prentice clarifying her answer to show the relevance of the Prisoners Votes Case to the Governance of Britain Green Paper and the Goldsmith Review, she should do the honourable thing and resign.
Deeds not words: Let's have some action on prisoners voting rights
Deeds not words: Let's have some action on prisoners voting rights
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to extend voting rights to sentenced prisoners in England and Wales. [218573]
Bridget Prentice: Following the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the case of Hirst v. UK requires the Government to reconsider their policy of a blanket ban on the voting rights of convicted prisoners. That requirement is a consequence of a judgment in the European Court of Human Rights and is something that would need to be implemented in the UK even if the Human Rights Act was not in place.
In response, we undertook a first stage consultation which concluded in March 2007. However, since that point the context for the debate about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and in particular the exercise of the franchise, in the United Kingdom has changed significantly following the launch of the Governance of Britain Green Paper and publication of the Goldsmith Review.
I can confirm that the Government remain committed to carrying out a second, more detailed public consultation on how voting rights might be granted to serving prisoners, and how far those rights should be extended. But we consider it essential that any changes to the law to extend the franchise to those held in custody are considered in the context of the wider development of policy on the franchise and the rights that attach to British citizenship.
During April 2008 we provided the Committee of Ministers with a detailed note about implementing the Hirst judgment and we have undertaken to submit further information in due course on the form and timing of a further consultation in the light of the wider debate which is now taking place. Following consideration of the outcome of consultation, legislation to implement the Government’s final approach will be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Commentary: It's a straight forward question and merited a straight forward answer. However, that would be "He has no plans". The reason being because the government has been stalling on this issue since 2005. Bridget Prentice almost repeats herself by twice referring to the ECtHR judgment and what it requires. Then curiously throws in the bit about the HRA (1998) when it had not been raised. Get the defence in quick before the Human Rights Act bashers call for it to be scrapped. What Bridget Prentice does not say, is that the ECtHR did not decide that there should be a public consultation. The Court decided that Parliament had not debated the issue of prisoners voting rights before imposing a blanket ban. And, Parliament has still not debated the issue. The government used the so-called consultation process to stall for more time. In my view, the process is legally flawed and susceptible to judicial review. Prisoners are members of the public, and it is a decision which most affects them and yet they were not consulted during the process. I am baffled by this wider British citizenship nonsense, unless the government intends to bury prisoners votes in the middle of it to try and confuse the public and the media.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to extend voting rights to sentenced prisoners in England and Wales. [218573]
Bridget Prentice: Following the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the case of Hirst v. UK requires the Government to reconsider their policy of a blanket ban on the voting rights of convicted prisoners. That requirement is a consequence of a judgment in the European Court of Human Rights and is something that would need to be implemented in the UK even if the Human Rights Act was not in place.
In response, we undertook a first stage consultation which concluded in March 2007. However, since that point the context for the debate about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and in particular the exercise of the franchise, in the United Kingdom has changed significantly following the launch of the Governance of Britain Green Paper and publication of the Goldsmith Review.
I can confirm that the Government remain committed to carrying out a second, more detailed public consultation on how voting rights might be granted to serving prisoners, and how far those rights should be extended. But we consider it essential that any changes to the law to extend the franchise to those held in custody are considered in the context of the wider development of policy on the franchise and the rights that attach to British citizenship.
During April 2008 we provided the Committee of Ministers with a detailed note about implementing the Hirst judgment and we have undertaken to submit further information in due course on the form and timing of a further consultation in the light of the wider debate which is now taking place. Following consideration of the outcome of consultation, legislation to implement the Government’s final approach will be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Commentary: It's a straight forward question and merited a straight forward answer. However, that would be "He has no plans". The reason being because the government has been stalling on this issue since 2005. Bridget Prentice almost repeats herself by twice referring to the ECtHR judgment and what it requires. Then curiously throws in the bit about the HRA (1998) when it had not been raised. Get the defence in quick before the Human Rights Act bashers call for it to be scrapped. What Bridget Prentice does not say, is that the ECtHR did not decide that there should be a public consultation. The Court decided that Parliament had not debated the issue of prisoners voting rights before imposing a blanket ban. And, Parliament has still not debated the issue. The government used the so-called consultation process to stall for more time. In my view, the process is legally flawed and susceptible to judicial review. Prisoners are members of the public, and it is a decision which most affects them and yet they were not consulted during the process. I am baffled by this wider British citizenship nonsense, unless the government intends to bury prisoners votes in the middle of it to try and confuse the public and the media.
Adding insult to injury
Adding insult to injury
Mr McCullough said he had never slapped Jess before. She has apologised. Am I reading this right? He slaps her, and she apologises?
Mr McCullough said he had never slapped Jess before. She has apologised. Am I reading this right? He slaps her, and she apologises?
Sea eagles released in secret location
Sea eagles released in secret location
A batch of white tailed sea eagles are being released from a secret location in Fife in a bid to reintroduce the species to the east of Scotland.
Video link here.
A batch of white tailed sea eagles are being released from a secret location in Fife in a bid to reintroduce the species to the east of Scotland.
Video link here.
Record payout for false imprisonment
Record payout for false imprisonment
Given that the Home Office has agreed that £700,000 compensation should be awarded to Colin Stagg for a year in custody, surely that means Barry George should be entitled to at least £5.5M? And, the Birmingham 6 etc ought to receive top up payments taking them to at least £10M!
Given that the Home Office has agreed that £700,000 compensation should be awarded to Colin Stagg for a year in custody, surely that means Barry George should be entitled to at least £5.5M? And, the Birmingham 6 etc ought to receive top up payments taking them to at least £10M!
Whatever next?
Whatever next?
Dead body lay in ward for seven hours
Just because a relative wished that the corpse remained in situ.
I think beds in hospital wards are for live patients. Once a patient expires, then it should be removed to the morgue, maybe even a chapel or a side room. I think this is one request the hospital should not have granted.
Dead body lay in ward for seven hours
Just because a relative wished that the corpse remained in situ.
I think beds in hospital wards are for live patients. Once a patient expires, then it should be removed to the morgue, maybe even a chapel or a side room. I think this is one request the hospital should not have granted.
Father kills daughter in revenge for wife's infidelity with a judge
Father kills daughter in revenge for wife's infidelity with a judge
A father who drugged then suffocated his three-year-old daughter in revenge for his wife's infidelity was jailed for life yesterday after being convicted of her murder.
A judge has resigned after his affair with a married woman ended in her husband killing their daughter.
James Muir-Little, 45, a deputy district judge, resigned his post before the outcome of disciplinary proceedings against him.
He had cheated on his own wife with Joanne Hall, 31, a cardiac nurse, after meeting her through and internet website for swingers.
They exchanged naked pictures and sexual fantasies by email before twice meeting for sex at hotels. In one email Mrs Hall promised to be a "dirty little slut" for the judge.
But when her husband Gavin Hall, 33, a hospital radiographer, found out he was consumed by anger and jealousy and killed their three-year-old daughter Millie in revenge for his wife's behaviour.
Related content...
Lawyer trawled sex internet sites
More related content...
The wife
This is a tragic case involving a sex mad judge, a sex mad wife, and a father who had tired of sex. It was a revenge killing. Premeditated murder. I cannot help wondering why the trial judge has only imposed a 15 year tariff. I received this for manslaughter. Perhaps the trial judge saw him as some kind of victim and gave him a reduction for his wife's infidelity? If this is the case, does it really warrant a reduction in sentence?
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Eagles' in-flight food fight
Eagles' in-flight food fight
A white-breasted sea eagle with a six-feet wingspan expertly scooped up a fish at Seven Mile Beach in the Kiama area of New South Wales in Australia.
But as it soared effortlessly into the skies with its prize the adult female was buzzed by her own fledgling daughter.
I don't think it was a food fight, but instead a mother feeding its young in flight.
A white-breasted sea eagle with a six-feet wingspan expertly scooped up a fish at Seven Mile Beach in the Kiama area of New South Wales in Australia.
But as it soared effortlessly into the skies with its prize the adult female was buzzed by her own fledgling daughter.
I don't think it was a food fight, but instead a mother feeding its young in flight.
Childkillers McCanns waste more money trying to clear their names
Childkillers McCanns waste more money trying to clear their names
Madeleine McCann's parents have hired a US private investigator firm made up of former CIA and FBI agents and special forces veterans as part of a renewed push to find their missing daughter, it was reported.
Hopefully, all this nonsense will be over in 6 months if the McCanns only have £500,000 in their in appropriately named findmadeleinefund, and they are paying private investigators £500,000 for a 6 months contract.
Given that the FBI believes that the McCanns are responsible for Madeleine's disappearance, and this new private investigation team includes ex-FBI men perhaps they will look closer to home for the people responsible?
Madeleine McCann's parents have hired a US private investigator firm made up of former CIA and FBI agents and special forces veterans as part of a renewed push to find their missing daughter, it was reported.
Hopefully, all this nonsense will be over in 6 months if the McCanns only have £500,000 in their in appropriately named findmadeleinefund, and they are paying private investigators £500,000 for a 6 months contract.
Given that the FBI believes that the McCanns are responsible for Madeleine's disappearance, and this new private investigation team includes ex-FBI men perhaps they will look closer to home for the people responsible?
Old lags
Old lags
Tougher sentences have meant the number of pensioners in prison has surged by a third in just three years.
A report from Anne Owers, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, found that the number of male prisoners over 60 jumped by 34 per cent to 2,192 between June 2004 and August last year.
Britain’s oldest career criminal is back in jail
A professional burglar who started his life of crime during WWII is back behind bars.
Richard Blaylock, 76, has spent a total of 43 years in prison for a string of break-ins which began in 1943 when he was just 11-years-old.
Yesterday he was jailed again for 90 days after he was stopped by police carrying a burglar’s tool-kit on the streets of Carlisle in the early hours of July 2.
He was found to be in possession of a crowbar, two screwdrivers, a chisel, a gas burner, a knife, a set of batteries, a torch and a magnifying glass.
Tougher sentences have meant the number of pensioners in prison has surged by a third in just three years.
A report from Anne Owers, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, found that the number of male prisoners over 60 jumped by 34 per cent to 2,192 between June 2004 and August last year.
Britain’s oldest career criminal is back in jail
A professional burglar who started his life of crime during WWII is back behind bars.
Richard Blaylock, 76, has spent a total of 43 years in prison for a string of break-ins which began in 1943 when he was just 11-years-old.
Yesterday he was jailed again for 90 days after he was stopped by police carrying a burglar’s tool-kit on the streets of Carlisle in the early hours of July 2.
He was found to be in possession of a crowbar, two screwdrivers, a chisel, a gas burner, a knife, a set of batteries, a torch and a magnifying glass.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Asylum seekers on hunger strike
Asylum seekers on hunger strike
About 60 people are taking part in a hunger strike started by 13 Iraqi Kurds at an Oxfordshire immigration centre.
Could this become as embarrassing and a PR disaster like the IRA hunger strikes?
About 60 people are taking part in a hunger strike started by 13 Iraqi Kurds at an Oxfordshire immigration centre.
Could this become as embarrassing and a PR disaster like the IRA hunger strikes?
BT: Oi U2 O 1p
BT: Oi U2 O 1p
BT has apologised to a couple after they were theatened with bailiffs over an outstanding bill of just one penny.
One wonders at the cost to BT of this palaver?
BT has apologised to a couple after they were theatened with bailiffs over an outstanding bill of just one penny.
One wonders at the cost to BT of this palaver?
A spell of bother
A spell of bother
Bad spelling 'should be accepted'
Common spelling mistakes should be accepted into everyday use, not corrected, a lecturer has said.
On the other hand...
'Illiterate' worker angers judge
An angry judge has branded a prosecution worker an "illiterate idiot" after spotting several spelling mistakes in an indictment.
Bad spelling 'should be accepted'
Common spelling mistakes should be accepted into everyday use, not corrected, a lecturer has said.
On the other hand...
'Illiterate' worker angers judge
An angry judge has branded a prosecution worker an "illiterate idiot" after spotting several spelling mistakes in an indictment.
Madeleine McCann 'seen again' in Brussels
Madeleine McCann 'seen again' in Brussels
A girl resembling Madeleine McCann was spotted for a second time on the same day and in the same area as an earlier sighting, it has been reported.
YAWN!
UPDATE: Surprise, surprise, Beligian Madeleine sighting ruled out
Oh Shit
Oh Shit
Giant inflatable turd escapes moorings and brings down electricity line
An inflatable dog turd the size of a house has blown away from a modern art exhibition in a Swiss museum before bringing down an electricity line and smashing a greenhouse window.
Giant inflatable turd escapes moorings and brings down electricity line
An inflatable dog turd the size of a house has blown away from a modern art exhibition in a Swiss museum before bringing down an electricity line and smashing a greenhouse window.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Former policeman attacked his ex
Former policeman attacked his ex
A former police sergeant has received a suspended sentence for assaulting a former lover. And the rest...
Bullets? From a weapon claimed to be destroyed? Was there a licence for the gun? Given the assault, why did he have the gun?
Why did he leave the police force?
Why do I feel there was undue leniency in this case?
A former police sergeant has received a suspended sentence for assaulting a former lover. And the rest...
Bullets? From a weapon claimed to be destroyed? Was there a licence for the gun? Given the assault, why did he have the gun?
Why did he leave the police force?
Why do I feel there was undue leniency in this case?
Former Thai PM flees to the UK
Former Thai PM flees to the UK
Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said he will not return to Thailand from the UK.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of this case, I found the following amusing...
"Meanwhile the Premier League has insisted it is prepared to invoke its "fit and proper persons test" as regards Thaksin's ownership of Manchester City if necessary".
What about the other gangsters who own football clubs?
Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said he will not return to Thailand from the UK.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of this case, I found the following amusing...
"Meanwhile the Premier League has insisted it is prepared to invoke its "fit and proper persons test" as regards Thaksin's ownership of Manchester City if necessary".
What about the other gangsters who own football clubs?
Soft on knife crime soft on carriers of knives
Soft on knife crime soft on carriers of knives
Hang on a minute. What was all this fuss about knife crime? I thought we were supposed to be cracking down on this?
An 18-year-old man with a flick knife stabbed an unarmed student to death during a fight has been found guilty of manslaughter. Sorry, but this is murder. I suspect he will get about 2-3 years if that...
Celebrating the knife.
Hang on a minute. What was all this fuss about knife crime? I thought we were supposed to be cracking down on this?
An 18-year-old man with a flick knife stabbed an unarmed student to death during a fight has been found guilty of manslaughter. Sorry, but this is murder. I suspect he will get about 2-3 years if that...
Celebrating the knife.
The cruellest wait
The cruellest wait
The Conservatives are planning to "get tough with the bail system". But shadow justice minister Nick Herbert's view that bail is too easily granted is contradicted by the shocking fact that each year in England and Wales many thousands of innocent people are remanded in prison. Thousands more are held for offences too minor for a jail term.
UPDATE: I wonder if Nick Herbert is any good at tossing a caber? I reckon he is a good tosser...
The Conservatives are planning to "get tough with the bail system". But shadow justice minister Nick Herbert's view that bail is too easily granted is contradicted by the shocking fact that each year in England and Wales many thousands of innocent people are remanded in prison. Thousands more are held for offences too minor for a jail term.
UPDATE: I wonder if Nick Herbert is any good at tossing a caber? I reckon he is a good tosser...
Either do the job or let someone else do it...
Either do the job or let someone else do it...
This is getting pathetic. Health and Safety legislation is just getting abused. Never mind the good will gesture, the postal service is liable and should be sued for more money. It might be that the postman was also throwing letters away rather than delivering them.
This is getting pathetic. Health and Safety legislation is just getting abused. Never mind the good will gesture, the postal service is liable and should be sued for more money. It might be that the postman was also throwing letters away rather than delivering them.
North Yorkshire Moors and a meal
North Yorkshire Moors and a meal
I can vouch for the moors and the building looks good but I have no idea what the food is like.
I can vouch for the moors and the building looks good but I have no idea what the food is like.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Lamb to the slaughter
Lamb to the slaughter
By: Max Szuca
Max Szuca relives the nightmare scenario of wrongfully being found guilty of sexual offences, in no small measure due to inadequate legal representation
On 17 November 2006 I was convicted on five counts of sexual assault and one count of gross indecent assault, and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.
During the next 12 months, my trial counsel repeatedly insisted there were no grounds for appeal, and I shall forever be left wondering why they continued to take this stance ... it beggars belief, and I can only assume they were prepared to let me rot in prison as a cover up for their abject failures at trial.
During those 12 months of imprisonment, my family and friends began a campaign for justice on my behalf; starting with a website and fund-raising events to raise enough money for transcripts of my trial and legal advice. After knocking on many doors, early in 2008 their tremendous hard work paid off with what they had put forward in layman’s terms for my appeal.
They passed my case onto a registrar and from there to a single judge, who then appointed me with new counsel to represent me for the appeal. After a legal visit at HMP Littlehey with my new counsel, I began to renew my faith in the legal system.
On 9 July 2008, my convictions were quashed as being ‘unsafe’ due to trial failures to call relevant evidence and witnesses, about which I would have relied upon for my defence. Also undisclosed evidence was withheld by the police which would have most certainly helped my defence.
So what went wrong you may ask? Firstly, my family and I made a huge mistake in going down our local high street seeking advice from the nearest firm of solicitors, who we now know (to our cost) were quite clearly out of their depth in such a stigmatised case. Their ‘professionalism’ can be summed up with their last words to me shortly before I was due in court. I expected a clear and precise picture of how they were to proceed at my trial; instead, their words to me were (quote) … "We will play it by ear".
My case was one of malicious allegations with no evidence, i.e. no DNA, no witnesses and no corroboration - just the words of another; and those words were made very clear to the court that could be credible and the complainant’s words must be held as paramount. There was no real investigation by the police; my family and I knew if people were to be traced and statements taken from them then the words of the complainant could have been blown totally out of the water.
As far as the CPS are concerned, all the defendant has to do is to admit that the complainant was in his or her company or at the home of the defendant. They will then find themselves in court and the courtroom becomes a lottery as to whether they are found guilty or not.
Looking back now at my trial, ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ simply did not take place. I was left like a lamb to the slaughter and, believe me, what happened to me could have happened to any member of your family and there is not one single thing you can do about it, apart from put your faith in the legal system.
I was a very lucky man indeed to have the support and resolve of my family and friends. The campaign to prove my innocence took hold of many people who sat on the fence simply because of the stigma attached. Some wanted to know more … asking questions like, ‘surely there must have been some sort of hard evidence against me or I would not have been found guilty?’ When they were shown the facts from the transcripts of my trial, they were totally shocked that a person could have been found guilty just on the words of another.
I do not pretend for one moment to know the answers in such cases, however these types of crimes do happen, let's not kid ourselves that they don’t, and there is something fundamentally wrong with how some of these cases end up in the courts in the first place.
However, I cannot end my story here - having lost my original battle in the court and then entering prison life, little did I know that a whole new battle awaited me from those upon high in HMP Littlehey.
I was branded a paedophile and there is nowhere to hide for anyone who maintains their innocence. Right from the start, I was pressured and blackmailed into taking the offender related courses. I was told that if I did not participate, I would not be able to return to my home town after release from prison and that I would not get parole. Whilst I fully understand the reasoning behind such courses, how on earth can you fit a round peg into a square hole? Some might say that those upon high are ‘only doing their jobs’, yet it beggars belief how one could sacrifice their innocence with such blatant tasks.
I also feel I should touch on the probation service at HMP Littlehey, who are a law unto themselves and appear to answer to no one. I regard them as being no better than drunken pub louts on a Friday night - when a person has been knocked to the floor, they would put the boot in. From first hand experience at HMP Littlehey, regardless of the type of crime, they will at every opportunity twist and manufacture their reports. How can they keep getting away with this? And if you think my words about probation at Littlehey are not true, then I challenge you to read the case notes of my case and the transcripts of my trial, and then compare them to the report given by the probation service.
Ombudsman - Peacekeeping over Responsibility?
Ombudsman - Peacekeeping over Responsibility?
By: Ben Gunn - HMP Shepton Mallet
Most of us won't remember the glory days of 1990, filled with smoke, fear, and a tinge of hope for change. The worst riots in our penal history led to the Woolf Report, one of the most sensible and far-reaching inquiries ever conducted into the prison system. Woolf identified prisoners’ perceptions of justice (and injustice) as being crucial to keeping order and control.
One of the few of Woolf’s recommendations that were finally adopted was the creation of an independent Prisons Ombudsman. By having an independent element to the complaints process, it was hoped that the process would have legitimacy; that is, we'd have a bit of faith when we shoved a complaint in that it wouldn't be dismissed out of hand.
Of course, life just isn't that simple, especially in prison. We are a cynical bunch, made so by the feeble responses we receive when we raise legitimate beefs. The first Ombudsman must have understood this, because he handled complaints in a way that the present bloke wouldn't recognise. There was an investigation, which led to a formal Report. That Report wasn't shy in flinging the crap in the appropriate direction; it said what was right, what was wrong, who messed up, and what was being asked of Prison Service Headquarters to put it right. Simple as that.
But things are not as simple anymore. As the number of complaints has risen, the amount of attention each gets has dropped. No longer is there a formal investigation and report. Investigators seem to be more concerned with working out a solution rather than apportioning blame. This has led to three problems, and together they threaten to undermine the Ombudsman and the legitimacy of the complaints process.
The first problem is the quality of the decisions being made. Over the last two years I have seen some truly bizarre decisions signed off by Stephen Shaw. Some have been my own complaints, mostly other peoples. But weird is weird.
One of the latest was in the Ombudsman’s quarterly bulletin. Some con was shipped and staff cleared his cell. The man put in a claim for stuff which was on his prop card, but which didn't arrive after him. Normally this might be solved by looking at the cell clearance paperwork, where two staff bag and tag everything and list the goodies. But this time they didn't bother. The Ombudsman refused to uphold the complaint because the man couldn't prove the items actually were in his cell when it was cleared.
So that's an open invitation to thieves with keys. How the hell is it ever possible for any con to prove what was in his cell at any particular moment? Especially when he's halfway down the M4 and his prop is 100 miles away. It’s just not possible. Nice one, that decision gives staff absolution for every shoddy cell clearance in future.
My own complaint about Compliance drug testing was also given the bums rush. Either it is Mandatory or Voluntary. Both of those are based in some lawful authority and have safeguards built into the process. But damned if I can find any authority for Compliance testing, and there are no safeguards in the process. Not one. But that's okay with the Ombudsman, although the letter explaining such was one of the most convoluted, incomprehensible pieces of work I have ever sweated over. And I read medieval constitutional law for relaxation.
It's simple to keep rehashing these examples, but I have to do just one more. A mate put up a notice about race relations which comprised a quote from the last Director General. He was ordered to take it down, and it wound its way to the Ombudsman - who took the prisons view. Alas, he also failed to consider Article 10 of the Human Rights Act - freedom of expression. In due course, the Prisoners Advice Service got involved, and finally the Ombudsman got around to doing a proper job and upheld the complaint.
This quality of decision-making is lamentable; it just isn't good enough. Individually, they smack of laziness. Collectively, they give the impression that the Ombudsman (in the job since 1999) has relaxed into a comfortable relationship with the Prison Service. Of course, he has to maintain a working relationship but there comes a point where you have to guard against giving the benefit of the doubt to staff too often. You shouldn't be afraid to point the finger of blame.
The second problem is the idea of ‘local resolution’. Not a bad idea on paper, but in practice a way of upholding a complaint and still leaving the con feeling aggrieved. By the time a complaint has reached the Ombudsman, the prison has had three chances to get it right. It should be the job of the Ombudsman to adjudicate on the complaint, to decide who was right and who was wrong. It really isn't complicated.
Instead, the Ombudsman tries to resolve the problem. Not bad in itself, but first it would be helpful to decide who is responsible for the screw up. If you want to put it right after that, go ahead. An illustration of this is a recent case where a lifer had his file mixed up with another lifers. As a result, he was stuck with a new set of risk factors just before a parole hearing. This is a very, very big deal, where years of liberty are at stake. The Ombudsman appears to be happy with an apology being given at local level. What should be happening is the identification of the idiot who made this shocking error, and make him give the apology - and recommend disciplinary proceedings.
This local resolution smacks of slipperyness, of a way of avoiding apportioning blame and responsibility for wrongdoing. It's a state of affairs that we aren't allowed to get away with, so why should staff? And why is the Ombudsman so easily persuaded that a few platitudes cover the grounds of the grievance? No; there should be a formal investigation (very rare under Stephen Shaw compared to his predecessor) and blame apportioned. Without doing that, it looks as if staff wrongdoing is being ignored and our faith in the whole process is undermined. The Ombudsman’s job is to deal with complaints, not to fart around trying some watered ¬down version of mediation. As I said, the prison has already had three chances before it gets to the Ombudsman; why should they get another free pass? Why aren't staff being held accountable?
The third problem is the cosy deal that the Prisons Ombudsman has struck with the Parliamentary Ombudsman for Administration. The latter has fearsome powers, including the ability to award compensation for maladministration. He is perfectly entitled to deal with our complaints, but now won't do so. He has been persuaded to leave all prison-related stuff to the Prisons Ombudsman - who has no statutory powers, and must go pleading to the Director General if he wants anything done (which may explain the local resolution crap). God forbid we get compensation, no matter how shocking the maladministration by staff.
We need to have confidence in the complaints system if we are to be persuaded that we are being treated justly. It’s not a mediation system, it’s a complaints system, and to morph it out of recognition in the name of local resolution is to treat the whole basis of the complaints system with a carelessness that can only come from working too closely with the Prison Service for too long.
We are in a perpetual state of powerlessness, with the whole weight of the State pressing on our throats. What seems incredibly minor to outsiders is, for us, a huge signifier of the way in which we are disregarded as human beings every day. To be treated badly, incompetently or just plain maliciously stokes the fires of resentment and anger. To have our complaints treated with less than the utmost care only adds to the grievance. That is why the Ombudsman should hold his office with great consideration and understanding, attempting to break away from the plush offices and casting his mind’s eye to the solitary prisoner in his cell who is reaching out for some portion of fairness and justice. Right now, he may well be disappointed.
By: Ben Gunn - HMP Shepton Mallet
Most of us won't remember the glory days of 1990, filled with smoke, fear, and a tinge of hope for change. The worst riots in our penal history led to the Woolf Report, one of the most sensible and far-reaching inquiries ever conducted into the prison system. Woolf identified prisoners’ perceptions of justice (and injustice) as being crucial to keeping order and control.
One of the few of Woolf’s recommendations that were finally adopted was the creation of an independent Prisons Ombudsman. By having an independent element to the complaints process, it was hoped that the process would have legitimacy; that is, we'd have a bit of faith when we shoved a complaint in that it wouldn't be dismissed out of hand.
Of course, life just isn't that simple, especially in prison. We are a cynical bunch, made so by the feeble responses we receive when we raise legitimate beefs. The first Ombudsman must have understood this, because he handled complaints in a way that the present bloke wouldn't recognise. There was an investigation, which led to a formal Report. That Report wasn't shy in flinging the crap in the appropriate direction; it said what was right, what was wrong, who messed up, and what was being asked of Prison Service Headquarters to put it right. Simple as that.
But things are not as simple anymore. As the number of complaints has risen, the amount of attention each gets has dropped. No longer is there a formal investigation and report. Investigators seem to be more concerned with working out a solution rather than apportioning blame. This has led to three problems, and together they threaten to undermine the Ombudsman and the legitimacy of the complaints process.
The first problem is the quality of the decisions being made. Over the last two years I have seen some truly bizarre decisions signed off by Stephen Shaw. Some have been my own complaints, mostly other peoples. But weird is weird.
One of the latest was in the Ombudsman’s quarterly bulletin. Some con was shipped and staff cleared his cell. The man put in a claim for stuff which was on his prop card, but which didn't arrive after him. Normally this might be solved by looking at the cell clearance paperwork, where two staff bag and tag everything and list the goodies. But this time they didn't bother. The Ombudsman refused to uphold the complaint because the man couldn't prove the items actually were in his cell when it was cleared.
So that's an open invitation to thieves with keys. How the hell is it ever possible for any con to prove what was in his cell at any particular moment? Especially when he's halfway down the M4 and his prop is 100 miles away. It’s just not possible. Nice one, that decision gives staff absolution for every shoddy cell clearance in future.
My own complaint about Compliance drug testing was also given the bums rush. Either it is Mandatory or Voluntary. Both of those are based in some lawful authority and have safeguards built into the process. But damned if I can find any authority for Compliance testing, and there are no safeguards in the process. Not one. But that's okay with the Ombudsman, although the letter explaining such was one of the most convoluted, incomprehensible pieces of work I have ever sweated over. And I read medieval constitutional law for relaxation.
It's simple to keep rehashing these examples, but I have to do just one more. A mate put up a notice about race relations which comprised a quote from the last Director General. He was ordered to take it down, and it wound its way to the Ombudsman - who took the prisons view. Alas, he also failed to consider Article 10 of the Human Rights Act - freedom of expression. In due course, the Prisoners Advice Service got involved, and finally the Ombudsman got around to doing a proper job and upheld the complaint.
This quality of decision-making is lamentable; it just isn't good enough. Individually, they smack of laziness. Collectively, they give the impression that the Ombudsman (in the job since 1999) has relaxed into a comfortable relationship with the Prison Service. Of course, he has to maintain a working relationship but there comes a point where you have to guard against giving the benefit of the doubt to staff too often. You shouldn't be afraid to point the finger of blame.
The second problem is the idea of ‘local resolution’. Not a bad idea on paper, but in practice a way of upholding a complaint and still leaving the con feeling aggrieved. By the time a complaint has reached the Ombudsman, the prison has had three chances to get it right. It should be the job of the Ombudsman to adjudicate on the complaint, to decide who was right and who was wrong. It really isn't complicated.
Instead, the Ombudsman tries to resolve the problem. Not bad in itself, but first it would be helpful to decide who is responsible for the screw up. If you want to put it right after that, go ahead. An illustration of this is a recent case where a lifer had his file mixed up with another lifers. As a result, he was stuck with a new set of risk factors just before a parole hearing. This is a very, very big deal, where years of liberty are at stake. The Ombudsman appears to be happy with an apology being given at local level. What should be happening is the identification of the idiot who made this shocking error, and make him give the apology - and recommend disciplinary proceedings.
This local resolution smacks of slipperyness, of a way of avoiding apportioning blame and responsibility for wrongdoing. It's a state of affairs that we aren't allowed to get away with, so why should staff? And why is the Ombudsman so easily persuaded that a few platitudes cover the grounds of the grievance? No; there should be a formal investigation (very rare under Stephen Shaw compared to his predecessor) and blame apportioned. Without doing that, it looks as if staff wrongdoing is being ignored and our faith in the whole process is undermined. The Ombudsman’s job is to deal with complaints, not to fart around trying some watered ¬down version of mediation. As I said, the prison has already had three chances before it gets to the Ombudsman; why should they get another free pass? Why aren't staff being held accountable?
The third problem is the cosy deal that the Prisons Ombudsman has struck with the Parliamentary Ombudsman for Administration. The latter has fearsome powers, including the ability to award compensation for maladministration. He is perfectly entitled to deal with our complaints, but now won't do so. He has been persuaded to leave all prison-related stuff to the Prisons Ombudsman - who has no statutory powers, and must go pleading to the Director General if he wants anything done (which may explain the local resolution crap). God forbid we get compensation, no matter how shocking the maladministration by staff.
We need to have confidence in the complaints system if we are to be persuaded that we are being treated justly. It’s not a mediation system, it’s a complaints system, and to morph it out of recognition in the name of local resolution is to treat the whole basis of the complaints system with a carelessness that can only come from working too closely with the Prison Service for too long.
We are in a perpetual state of powerlessness, with the whole weight of the State pressing on our throats. What seems incredibly minor to outsiders is, for us, a huge signifier of the way in which we are disregarded as human beings every day. To be treated badly, incompetently or just plain maliciously stokes the fires of resentment and anger. To have our complaints treated with less than the utmost care only adds to the grievance. That is why the Ombudsman should hold his office with great consideration and understanding, attempting to break away from the plush offices and casting his mind’s eye to the solitary prisoner in his cell who is reaching out for some portion of fairness and justice. Right now, he may well be disappointed.
Thin end of the wedge?
Thin end of the wedge?
By: John OConnor - Lifer
Lifer John OConnor fears that lessons learnt from the Strangeways Riots will be ignored by the present generation of prison managers.
It's been several weeks now since the new increased ‘bang-up’ hours were introduced to prisons nationally. But wonder of wonders, despite doom-laden predictions, civilisation as we know it didn't come to an end. For known only to a minority of prisoners, they had been down this particular road before. For them, spending longer hours behind their doors brought with it a sense of deja vu. But there was no boasting about this insider knowledge. Awareness simply confirmed they had spent more time in prison than most of today's prisoners. This unhappy fact also confirmed they could remember just how harsh prison life was prior to what penal history calls the ‘Strangeways Riots.’ Prison conditions then were vastly different - with even longer hours spent banged-up.
These riots kicked-off 18 years ago at HMP Manchester (aka Strangeways) and spread like wildfire to a number of other jails. They were mainly ‘locals’ which, as with Strangeways, were notorious for their inhumane conditions, with uniformed staff to match. However, the Strangeways Riots marked a major turning point in prison conditions. In fact, prisons simply couldn't continue to be run along the brutal lines commonplace up to then. Something had to give, and it did when discipline and control exploded in the most spectacular way imaginable. Prisoners effectively took control of some jails.
The seminal reports produced by Lord Woolf and Judge Tumin resulted in massive changes in the way prisons were run. Undoubtedly they were mainly for the better, but now there is a real risk that lessons learnt from the Strangeways Riots will be ignored by the present generation of prison managers; far too young to learn from the past.
In the words of the philosopher-poet George Santayana …"Those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it”. In other words, has the pendulum now begun to swing too far the other way - back to the harsh and inhumane conditions that ended almost two decades ago? Not that this would be a deliberate strategy (that is, not until tabloids such as the Sun are officially given control of penal policy). Instead, it's based more on expediency when responding to current financial needs.
Yet reverting to old, discredited practices such as extended ‘bang-ups’ could happen for no other reason than today's cadre of managers are simply too young to remember and learn the lessons of the past. At this point it might be useful to compare and contrast present and former aspects of prison life.
For a start, who remembers the days of ‘slopping out’? Fortunately, Strangeways marked the end to this degrading procedure whereby prisoners twice daily paraded with their brimming chamber pots prior to emptying them in sluices located on each landing. The smell, spillage and all other unhygienic aspects of this primitive sanitation procedure was unbelievable. Today, most prisons have in-cell sanitation.
Nowadays they also have in-cell power points complete with a prison-issued TV. As for the mains-powered radio, DVD and CD player, these commonplace items were previously virtually unheard of when fighting endless hours of ‘bang-up’.
Amongst other profound changes in the way prisons operate post-Strangeways is how uniformed staff treat inmates. If you think it could do with improvement now, you simply don't know just how bad it was pre-Strangeways. Then, some officers would sooner smack you in the face (and get away with it) than give you the time of day. And as for being taken to the segregation unit, the usual collection of bruises acquired in the process in those days were attributed to the unfortunate inmate hitting his head on the stairs whilst being ‘assisted’ on his way. Today there is far more accountability imposed when seeking causes/explanations of injuries sustained when staff deal with physically violent situations.
Yet amongst the most significant changes post-Strangeways has been the quality of food and the timing of serving it. Previously, food was on the whole inedible. So prisoners attempted to survive on canteen-bought chocolate and biscuits. Today, food quality is of a standard and variety which many households would be hard-pushed to match. Of course there will always be the discontents; mouthing off about the s*** being served. Usually they are those for whom roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is a lousy substitute for the 16 pints of lager and two packets of crisps which constitute their main meal of the day ‘on the outside’. Pre-Strangeways, three meals were served up over an eight-hour period. It was even shorter over the weekend. Admittedly, in those days the much-missed cooked breakfast was the norm, unlike the pre-packed cereal provided today.
Other significant changes took longer to implement, notably prison healthcare which was eventually transferred to the NHS. Although many prison healthcare units still have their limitations, just take the word of any old timer as to what healthcare provision (including dentists and opticians) was like in pre-Strangeways days. In a word, it was appalling. In fact you had more chance of dying than getting timely medical intervention.
Provision also of education and workplace activities was a joke. Today there are realistic opportunities to acquire employment and other money-earning skills whilst in prison, if you put your mind to it. Educational opportunities abound, ranging from basic skills to Open University degree-level courses.
Gym facilities today are comparable (and some say even better) to those found outside. The general standard of accommodation, including bedding and hygiene levels, bears no comparison with what was accepted 18-plus years ago. So too is the availability and cleanliness of prison issue clothing.
Without doubt, Strangeways resulted in a vast range of improvements and a greater level of professionalism within prisons. Yet there is a real risk that, without careful monitoring, the Prison Service will revert to form when taking two steps back for every one step forward. Are the new ‘bang-up’ hours possibly just the thin edge of the wedge?
Then, and now, staffing costs are by far one of the biggest spending items within the current £2 billion a year budget required to run prisons in England and Wales. And because (as any politician will confirm) there are no votes in prisons, there is no way staff are going to get properly funded pay levels. As for prisoners' pay, the Prime Minister personally squashed recent attempts to raise basic levels - last increased 10 years ago.
Presently, perhaps more than at any other time, the future doesn't bode well for prisoners and staff alike. Without doubt the economic good times are now on their way out. Banks are going bust, companies are going belly-up, the stock market is in the doldrums and forecasters predict that the next few years will be marked by even more belt-tightening. So if you think it's bad now, it's certainly not going to get any better in the near future; and for some prisoners they are now in the ludicrous situation where they cannot afford to survive ‘on the outside’. Instead, they have decided to forgo parole and stay ‘inside’ whilst riding out the economic storm. As Bob Dylan once sung: "The times they are a 'changing”.
By: John OConnor - Lifer
Lifer John OConnor fears that lessons learnt from the Strangeways Riots will be ignored by the present generation of prison managers.
It's been several weeks now since the new increased ‘bang-up’ hours were introduced to prisons nationally. But wonder of wonders, despite doom-laden predictions, civilisation as we know it didn't come to an end. For known only to a minority of prisoners, they had been down this particular road before. For them, spending longer hours behind their doors brought with it a sense of deja vu. But there was no boasting about this insider knowledge. Awareness simply confirmed they had spent more time in prison than most of today's prisoners. This unhappy fact also confirmed they could remember just how harsh prison life was prior to what penal history calls the ‘Strangeways Riots.’ Prison conditions then were vastly different - with even longer hours spent banged-up.
These riots kicked-off 18 years ago at HMP Manchester (aka Strangeways) and spread like wildfire to a number of other jails. They were mainly ‘locals’ which, as with Strangeways, were notorious for their inhumane conditions, with uniformed staff to match. However, the Strangeways Riots marked a major turning point in prison conditions. In fact, prisons simply couldn't continue to be run along the brutal lines commonplace up to then. Something had to give, and it did when discipline and control exploded in the most spectacular way imaginable. Prisoners effectively took control of some jails.
The seminal reports produced by Lord Woolf and Judge Tumin resulted in massive changes in the way prisons were run. Undoubtedly they were mainly for the better, but now there is a real risk that lessons learnt from the Strangeways Riots will be ignored by the present generation of prison managers; far too young to learn from the past.
In the words of the philosopher-poet George Santayana …"Those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it”. In other words, has the pendulum now begun to swing too far the other way - back to the harsh and inhumane conditions that ended almost two decades ago? Not that this would be a deliberate strategy (that is, not until tabloids such as the Sun are officially given control of penal policy). Instead, it's based more on expediency when responding to current financial needs.
Yet reverting to old, discredited practices such as extended ‘bang-ups’ could happen for no other reason than today's cadre of managers are simply too young to remember and learn the lessons of the past. At this point it might be useful to compare and contrast present and former aspects of prison life.
For a start, who remembers the days of ‘slopping out’? Fortunately, Strangeways marked the end to this degrading procedure whereby prisoners twice daily paraded with their brimming chamber pots prior to emptying them in sluices located on each landing. The smell, spillage and all other unhygienic aspects of this primitive sanitation procedure was unbelievable. Today, most prisons have in-cell sanitation.
Nowadays they also have in-cell power points complete with a prison-issued TV. As for the mains-powered radio, DVD and CD player, these commonplace items were previously virtually unheard of when fighting endless hours of ‘bang-up’.
Amongst other profound changes in the way prisons operate post-Strangeways is how uniformed staff treat inmates. If you think it could do with improvement now, you simply don't know just how bad it was pre-Strangeways. Then, some officers would sooner smack you in the face (and get away with it) than give you the time of day. And as for being taken to the segregation unit, the usual collection of bruises acquired in the process in those days were attributed to the unfortunate inmate hitting his head on the stairs whilst being ‘assisted’ on his way. Today there is far more accountability imposed when seeking causes/explanations of injuries sustained when staff deal with physically violent situations.
Yet amongst the most significant changes post-Strangeways has been the quality of food and the timing of serving it. Previously, food was on the whole inedible. So prisoners attempted to survive on canteen-bought chocolate and biscuits. Today, food quality is of a standard and variety which many households would be hard-pushed to match. Of course there will always be the discontents; mouthing off about the s*** being served. Usually they are those for whom roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is a lousy substitute for the 16 pints of lager and two packets of crisps which constitute their main meal of the day ‘on the outside’. Pre-Strangeways, three meals were served up over an eight-hour period. It was even shorter over the weekend. Admittedly, in those days the much-missed cooked breakfast was the norm, unlike the pre-packed cereal provided today.
Other significant changes took longer to implement, notably prison healthcare which was eventually transferred to the NHS. Although many prison healthcare units still have their limitations, just take the word of any old timer as to what healthcare provision (including dentists and opticians) was like in pre-Strangeways days. In a word, it was appalling. In fact you had more chance of dying than getting timely medical intervention.
Provision also of education and workplace activities was a joke. Today there are realistic opportunities to acquire employment and other money-earning skills whilst in prison, if you put your mind to it. Educational opportunities abound, ranging from basic skills to Open University degree-level courses.
Gym facilities today are comparable (and some say even better) to those found outside. The general standard of accommodation, including bedding and hygiene levels, bears no comparison with what was accepted 18-plus years ago. So too is the availability and cleanliness of prison issue clothing.
Without doubt, Strangeways resulted in a vast range of improvements and a greater level of professionalism within prisons. Yet there is a real risk that, without careful monitoring, the Prison Service will revert to form when taking two steps back for every one step forward. Are the new ‘bang-up’ hours possibly just the thin edge of the wedge?
Then, and now, staffing costs are by far one of the biggest spending items within the current £2 billion a year budget required to run prisons in England and Wales. And because (as any politician will confirm) there are no votes in prisons, there is no way staff are going to get properly funded pay levels. As for prisoners' pay, the Prime Minister personally squashed recent attempts to raise basic levels - last increased 10 years ago.
Presently, perhaps more than at any other time, the future doesn't bode well for prisoners and staff alike. Without doubt the economic good times are now on their way out. Banks are going bust, companies are going belly-up, the stock market is in the doldrums and forecasters predict that the next few years will be marked by even more belt-tightening. So if you think it's bad now, it's certainly not going to get any better in the near future; and for some prisoners they are now in the ludicrous situation where they cannot afford to survive ‘on the outside’. Instead, they have decided to forgo parole and stay ‘inside’ whilst riding out the economic storm. As Bob Dylan once sung: "The times they are a 'changing”.
Alvi’s fight for justice continues
Alvi’s fight for justice continues
The Crown Prosecution Service claimed that a pair of gloves were a mobile phone...
The jury were shown a pair of jeans which the CPS claimed were stained with the victim's blood. However, forensics in the USA tested the jeans and states it is unlikely that the stain is human blood. The jeans are too short for the accused and do not contain his DNA.
Is this another case of a miscarriage of justice?
The Crown Prosecution Service claimed that a pair of gloves were a mobile phone...
The jury were shown a pair of jeans which the CPS claimed were stained with the victim's blood. However, forensics in the USA tested the jeans and states it is unlikely that the stain is human blood. The jeans are too short for the accused and do not contain his DNA.
Is this another case of a miscarriage of justice?
Solicitor wins extra wheelie bin case
Solicitor wins extra wheelie bin case
Councils across Britain could be forced to hand out extra wheelie bins to households after a landmark ruling.
"Roger Houlker, a solicitor, fought a two-and-a-half-year battle against Congleton Borough Council to prove that he should be given a second bin for his six-bedroom Cheshire home.
The local government ombudsman, Anne Seex, has now found the council guilty of "maladministration with injustice" for failing to collect his extra waste and told it to review its policy".
This case confirms my suspicion that lawyers are full of rubbish...
Councils across Britain could be forced to hand out extra wheelie bins to households after a landmark ruling.
"Roger Houlker, a solicitor, fought a two-and-a-half-year battle against Congleton Borough Council to prove that he should be given a second bin for his six-bedroom Cheshire home.
The local government ombudsman, Anne Seex, has now found the council guilty of "maladministration with injustice" for failing to collect his extra waste and told it to review its policy".
This case confirms my suspicion that lawyers are full of rubbish...
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Protest attempt at Olympic event
Protest attempt at Olympic event
A student who tried to unveil a Tibetan flag during the first day of Olympic competition has been removed by officials from an equestrian event.
"China bans the Tibetan flag from events under rules which prevent the display of flags of countries not competing in the Games".
I award Olympic Gold to Tibet for the flag flying competition.
Russian jets attack Georgian town
Russian jets attack Georgian town
Russian jets have carried out strikes on military targets in the central Georgian town of Gori, close to the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Most of the targets seem to have been military bases, but Georgian officials said a number of civilians had been killed in residential buildings.
Russia said it had "liberated" the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali.
Earlier, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his country was seeking "to force the Georgian side to peace".
What a coincidence as the world is distracted by the Olympics Russia attacks Georgia. This nonsense of "liberated" has all the hallmarks of the American invasion of Iraq. Attacking a country which is an act of war and claiming that the purpose is to seek to force the other country to peace just does not add up. Once more, it would appear that this is all to do with oil.
Russian jets have carried out strikes on military targets in the central Georgian town of Gori, close to the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Most of the targets seem to have been military bases, but Georgian officials said a number of civilians had been killed in residential buildings.
Russia said it had "liberated" the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali.
Earlier, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his country was seeking "to force the Georgian side to peace".
What a coincidence as the world is distracted by the Olympics Russia attacks Georgia. This nonsense of "liberated" has all the hallmarks of the American invasion of Iraq. Attacking a country which is an act of war and claiming that the purpose is to seek to force the other country to peace just does not add up. Once more, it would appear that this is all to do with oil.
Friday, August 08, 2008
David Cameron goes after lame duck Gordon Brown
Warning: Graphic content
David Cameron goes after lame duck Gordon Brown
A seal has been caught on film chasing, toying with and finally killing an eider duck.
David Cameron goes after lame duck Gordon Brown
A seal has been caught on film chasing, toying with and finally killing an eider duck.
Georgia: Russia enters into 'war' in South Ossetia
Georgia: Russia enters into 'war' in South Ossetia
Over 1,300 people are reported dead after Russian forces responded to a Georgian attack on rebels in the breakaway province of South Ossetia by mounting a full scale invasion.
Columns of Russian tanks plunged the two neighbours into war as they filed into South Ossetia, marking the Kremlin's first military assault on foreign soil since the Soviet Union's Afghanistan intevention, which ended in 1989.
Russian tanks rolled towards the capital of South Ossetia and fighters bombed Georgian air bases after Georgia launched attacks on rebels in the breakaway region. South Ossetia won de-facto independence in a war which ended in 1992 but has been a source of tension ever since, along with Abkhazia, another separatist region.
Russian peacekeepers have suffered 12 dead and 150 wounded, the peacekeeping forces were quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
"Now our peacekeepers are waging a fierce battle with regular forces from the Georgian army in the southern region of Tskhinvali," a representative of the Russian force was quoted as saying by Interfax.
The confrontation between the two countries deepened in April when Nato promised that Georgia would be allowed to join - although no clear timetable was offered.
The European Union was trying to secure a ceasefire in the pro-Russian enclave. The United States and the EU sent a joint delegation to the region in a bid to halt the fighting, while Nato called for an immediate end to the clashes and for direct talks between Russia and Georgia.
Any ceasefire would be unlikely to hold. Hours after President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, a devoutly pro-Western leader, declared a unilateral ceasefire on Thursday night, his forces began an artillery barrage against Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital.
The fighting broke out as much of the world's attention was focused on the start of the Olympic Games. Many leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President George W Bush, were in Beijing watching the opening ceremony.
Mr Putin declared: "War has started." Victor Dolidze, Georgia's ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said: "If this is not war, then I wonder what it is."
Mr Dolidze told the OSCE's permanent council in Vienna that Russian forces had been bombing Georgian territory since the morning, according to a diplomat who attended the 45-minute meeting.
Vladimir Voronkov, Russia's representative, told the assembly that "the true story is very different." He accused the Georgian side of launching a massive attack in defiance of diplomatic efforts.
As the roar of warplanes and the explosion of heavy shells sounded outside Tskhinvali, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, accused the Georgians of driving people from their homes.
"We are receiving reports that a policy of ethnic cleansing was being conducted in villages in South Ossetia, the number of refugees is climbing, the panic is growing, people are trying to save their lives," he said in televised remarks from the ministry.
Georgia, which would be hugely outnumbered in an all-out confrontation with Russia, said that it had control of the capital, but there were reports of Russian tanks on the outskirts and that Georgian forces had started to retreat.
Georgia will withdraw 1,000 soldiers from its military contingent of around 2,000 troops in Iraq to help in the fighting against South Ossetian separatist rebels, a top Georgian official said.
Georgia has asked the US military to provide aircraft to move Georgian troops home from Iraq as fighting rages in Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region, a US military official said Friday.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia.
"The United States calls for an immediate ceasefire to the armed conflict in Georgia's region of South Ossetia," Rice said in a statement.
"We call on Russia to cease attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia's territorial integrity, and withdraw its ground combat forces from Georgian soil," she said.
The United States is working actively with its European allies to launch international mediation to end the crisis and senior US officials have spoken with the parties in the conflict, she added.
A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana: "We repeat our message to all parties to immediately stop the violence."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said the US was sending an envoy to the region "to engage with the parties in the conflict".
Over 1,300 people are reported dead after Russian forces responded to a Georgian attack on rebels in the breakaway province of South Ossetia by mounting a full scale invasion.
Columns of Russian tanks plunged the two neighbours into war as they filed into South Ossetia, marking the Kremlin's first military assault on foreign soil since the Soviet Union's Afghanistan intevention, which ended in 1989.
Russian tanks rolled towards the capital of South Ossetia and fighters bombed Georgian air bases after Georgia launched attacks on rebels in the breakaway region. South Ossetia won de-facto independence in a war which ended in 1992 but has been a source of tension ever since, along with Abkhazia, another separatist region.
Russian peacekeepers have suffered 12 dead and 150 wounded, the peacekeeping forces were quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
"Now our peacekeepers are waging a fierce battle with regular forces from the Georgian army in the southern region of Tskhinvali," a representative of the Russian force was quoted as saying by Interfax.
The confrontation between the two countries deepened in April when Nato promised that Georgia would be allowed to join - although no clear timetable was offered.
The European Union was trying to secure a ceasefire in the pro-Russian enclave. The United States and the EU sent a joint delegation to the region in a bid to halt the fighting, while Nato called for an immediate end to the clashes and for direct talks between Russia and Georgia.
Any ceasefire would be unlikely to hold. Hours after President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, a devoutly pro-Western leader, declared a unilateral ceasefire on Thursday night, his forces began an artillery barrage against Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital.
The fighting broke out as much of the world's attention was focused on the start of the Olympic Games. Many leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President George W Bush, were in Beijing watching the opening ceremony.
Mr Putin declared: "War has started." Victor Dolidze, Georgia's ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said: "If this is not war, then I wonder what it is."
Mr Dolidze told the OSCE's permanent council in Vienna that Russian forces had been bombing Georgian territory since the morning, according to a diplomat who attended the 45-minute meeting.
Vladimir Voronkov, Russia's representative, told the assembly that "the true story is very different." He accused the Georgian side of launching a massive attack in defiance of diplomatic efforts.
As the roar of warplanes and the explosion of heavy shells sounded outside Tskhinvali, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, accused the Georgians of driving people from their homes.
"We are receiving reports that a policy of ethnic cleansing was being conducted in villages in South Ossetia, the number of refugees is climbing, the panic is growing, people are trying to save their lives," he said in televised remarks from the ministry.
Georgia, which would be hugely outnumbered in an all-out confrontation with Russia, said that it had control of the capital, but there were reports of Russian tanks on the outskirts and that Georgian forces had started to retreat.
Georgia will withdraw 1,000 soldiers from its military contingent of around 2,000 troops in Iraq to help in the fighting against South Ossetian separatist rebels, a top Georgian official said.
Georgia has asked the US military to provide aircraft to move Georgian troops home from Iraq as fighting rages in Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region, a US military official said Friday.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia.
"The United States calls for an immediate ceasefire to the armed conflict in Georgia's region of South Ossetia," Rice said in a statement.
"We call on Russia to cease attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia's territorial integrity, and withdraw its ground combat forces from Georgian soil," she said.
The United States is working actively with its European allies to launch international mediation to end the crisis and senior US officials have spoken with the parties in the conflict, she added.
A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana: "We repeat our message to all parties to immediately stop the violence."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said the US was sending an envoy to the region "to engage with the parties in the conflict".
Conker championships blighted by tree sickness
Conker championships blighted by tree sickness
By Jon Swaine
The world conker championship could be in jeopardy due to a shortage caused by blighted horse chestnut trees.
Organisers of the competition, which is held every year in Ashton, Northants, are struggling to collect the 5,000 healthy conkers they need.
Many horse chestnuts are enduring a dual assault from leaf miner moths, whose larvae chew through leaves, and bleeding canker, an infection that starves them of nutrients.
Cankerous trees suffer splits to their bark allowing sap, which they depend on to distribute food and water, to ooze away.
Richard Howard, the chief umpire, said: "We're keeping a careful watch on how the conkers are developing, but they're very small for this time of year.
"It's a bit like having the football league with no footballs."
The Forestry Commission says that 49 per cent of Britain's horse chestnuts show symptoms of bleeding canker.
While both problems have hit British horse chestnuts in previous years, this is the first time in the championship's 44-year history that the competition has been put in doubt.
John Hadman, one of the championship's organisers, said he was now considering importing conkers from Europe.
"We are the world conker championship, so why not take the conkers from elsewhere in the world?" he said.
"We know they play a lot of conkers in France, in Germany and in Holland, and a number of these countries run their own championships. There is the possibility of getting conkers from those sources."
Dr Jean Webber, the Principal Pathologist at Forest Research, the scientific arm of the Forestry Commission, said that bleeding canker has been spreading quickly across Britain since 2001, having been confined to the south of England since the 1960s.
She said Forest Research believes its increased prevalence has been caused by a newly detected Indian-born bacterium, Pseudomonas syringae pv aesculi, replacing Phytophthora, a plant-destroying fungus, as its main cause. This may have been aided by mild winters and wet springs in recent years.
Dr Webber said: "There's nothing much you can do about it if your tree displays the symptoms. Our advice is: if you can do, leave the trees well alone, unless they become so damaged that they create a safety hazard.
"Disturbing the trees, by pruning them or making other attempts to clear the infection, may result in the bacteria being spread even further."
08.08.08 Free Tibet.
UPDATE: The first to climb over the Great Firewall of China...
site meter location report for this blog
94
China Beijing 4,892
If you think China is a police state, just look at us in Britain
If you think China is a police state, just look at us in Britain
Beijing seems to have been turned into one giant Potemkin village. Everybody smiling, everybody happy. The universally joyful welcome has already drawn gasps of admiration and astonishment from visiting British sports journalists. The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, who speaks Mandarin, took the trouble to roam further afield, to a village near Guangzhou, where farmers three years ago had protested about the seizure of their land by local Communist Party officials. He was speedily surrounded by what he described as "a phalanx of young men with cropped hair, who followed me wherever I went".
Beijing seems to have been turned into one giant Potemkin village. Everybody smiling, everybody happy. The universally joyful welcome has already drawn gasps of admiration and astonishment from visiting British sports journalists. The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, who speaks Mandarin, took the trouble to roam further afield, to a village near Guangzhou, where farmers three years ago had protested about the seizure of their land by local Communist Party officials. He was speedily surrounded by what he described as "a phalanx of young men with cropped hair, who followed me wherever I went".
British crime lords rule £40 billion underworld
British crime lords rule £40 billion underworld
A £40 billion underworld economy is dominated by homegrown criminals, with at least 27 “Mr Bigs” running their empires from inside British jails, The Times has learnt.
"The Acpo team is concerned at the ease with which inmates can obtain mobile phones. “Significant criminal activity is being driven from within prisons,” said Mr Murphy".
I have a suspicion that this news is to herald a crackdown in prisons. I cannot help wondering if this crime business is actually good for the economy?
A £40 billion underworld economy is dominated by homegrown criminals, with at least 27 “Mr Bigs” running their empires from inside British jails, The Times has learnt.
"The Acpo team is concerned at the ease with which inmates can obtain mobile phones. “Significant criminal activity is being driven from within prisons,” said Mr Murphy".
I have a suspicion that this news is to herald a crackdown in prisons. I cannot help wondering if this crime business is actually good for the economy?
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Bin Laden driver could be held by U.S. after sentence
Bin Laden driver could be held by U.S. after sentence
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (CNN) -- A jury of six military officers Thursday sentenced Osama bin Laden's former driver to five-and-a-half years in prison after his conviction on charges of providing material support to al Qaeda.
After Salim Haman serves his sentence, he could still be kept as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo Bay.
He has been imprisoned at the U.S. military detention center since 2002 and has been credited with 61 months served. That means that he has five months left to serve.
There is something wrong with a system of justice which firstly keeps you in prison without charge and trial for 6 years, then puts you on trial at a military court and you receive a sentence, when the sentence is expired instead of releasing you they keep you in prison indefinitely.
Hello America, he was just a fucking driver! Why don't you now go out and find out who supplied the driver with petrol?
Deaf man killed at blind junction
Deaf man killed at blind junction
This is a tragic case. The driver of the fire engine failed to take into account that not all road users would be able to hear the two tone siren. In rushing to save human life a human life was lost.
Is this the price of human life £750 fine and six penalty points? I don't wish to appear to be too harsh on the fire engine driver, still, I feel that the car driver's estate ought to sue for damages.
McCanns not abductor still responsible for Madeleine's disappearance
McCanns not abductor still responsible for Madeleine's disappearance
The Daily Telegraph has sunk to an all time low with this garbage: Madeleine McCann 'was snatched by paedophile ring to order'. The poor excuse for a journalist called Caroline Gammell concluded that the email "It destroys the PJ's theory that the couple accidentally killed Madeleine and then tried to dispose of her body".
The email said "Intelligence suggests that a paedophile ring in Belgium made an order for a young girl three days before Madeleine McCann was taken.
"Somebody connected to this group saw Maddie, took a photograph of her and sent it to Belgium. The purchaser agreed that the girl was suitable and Maddie was taken".
This should have alerted both the so-called journalist and the so-called editor that it was a non-story. "A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Unsubstantiated information was received by CO14 relating to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann".
UPDATE: And from the Guardian...
"The source of the information was anonymous and it is unclear how reliable it is".
Er, shouldn't that be "it is clear how unreliable it is"?
The Daily Telegraph has sunk to an all time low with this garbage: Madeleine McCann 'was snatched by paedophile ring to order'. The poor excuse for a journalist called Caroline Gammell concluded that the email "It destroys the PJ's theory that the couple accidentally killed Madeleine and then tried to dispose of her body".
The email said "Intelligence suggests that a paedophile ring in Belgium made an order for a young girl three days before Madeleine McCann was taken.
"Somebody connected to this group saw Maddie, took a photograph of her and sent it to Belgium. The purchaser agreed that the girl was suitable and Maddie was taken".
This should have alerted both the so-called journalist and the so-called editor that it was a non-story. "A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Unsubstantiated information was received by CO14 relating to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann".
UPDATE: And from the Guardian...
"The source of the information was anonymous and it is unclear how reliable it is".
Er, shouldn't that be "it is clear how unreliable it is"?
Tory MP Patrick Mercer suffers from memory loss
Tory MP Patrick Mercer suffers from memory loss
Whilst I agree in principle that it is not right for the BNP to sell fake VCs, I was rather amused by this comment from Tory MP Patrick Mercer: "Medals for gallantry and campaigns are absolutely nothing to do with any political party". What a short memory he has. Let me remind him. Margaret Thatcher, Falklands/Malvinas, Colonel "H"...
Whilst I agree in principle that it is not right for the BNP to sell fake VCs, I was rather amused by this comment from Tory MP Patrick Mercer: "Medals for gallantry and campaigns are absolutely nothing to do with any political party". What a short memory he has. Let me remind him. Margaret Thatcher, Falklands/Malvinas, Colonel "H"...
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Vaulting the great firewall
Vaulting the great firewall
China has temporarily relaxed internet censorship, but democracy activists already know how to bypass the web police
Despite recent reports that restrictions will be lifted on some media and human rights websites, one event in which the Chinese are almost certain to win gold medals in is the internet surveillance and censorship race. But journalists do not have to wait for the vagaries of the policy shifts of the Chinese government in negotiation with the IOC. They can easily bypass the restrictions by using techniques that Chinese democracy activists already use, which are highly effective and practically unstoppable.
Related content...
Beijing Blogger's Olympic Scrawl
China has temporarily relaxed internet censorship, but democracy activists already know how to bypass the web police
Despite recent reports that restrictions will be lifted on some media and human rights websites, one event in which the Chinese are almost certain to win gold medals in is the internet surveillance and censorship race. But journalists do not have to wait for the vagaries of the policy shifts of the Chinese government in negotiation with the IOC. They can easily bypass the restrictions by using techniques that Chinese democracy activists already use, which are highly effective and practically unstoppable.
Related content...
Beijing Blogger's Olympic Scrawl
Solitary confinement for 35 years: justice, the American way?
Solitary confinement for 35 years: justice, the American way?
Their convictions have been overturned and the US press is watching, but Woodfox and Wallace are still in prison
What keeps a man locked up in an American prison, not only when the evidence against him is so poor that the head of the United States house judiciary committee takes a specific interest and mainstream US media start to take note but also, more importantly, when his conviction has been overturned?
Their convictions have been overturned and the US press is watching, but Woodfox and Wallace are still in prison
What keeps a man locked up in an American prison, not only when the evidence against him is so poor that the head of the United States house judiciary committee takes a specific interest and mainstream US media start to take note but also, more importantly, when his conviction has been overturned?
Cybercrime: Spanish hacker jailed for sending out ex-manager's private emails
Cybercrime: Spanish hacker jailed for sending out ex-manager's private emails
A hacker has been jailed for two years in Spain for revealing hundreds of private emails written by a former colleague. The emails, which were taken from the former manager's work computer, divulged details of his sex life.
The hacker sent them to the manager's ex-wife, to a woman with whom he was having a relationship, and to the mayor of a council where he was working.
The emails were also copied on to other people who knew the victim.
A judge in Barcelona yesterday jailed the hacker, who was not named, for two years for an offence of "revealing secrets". He was also ordered to pay a fine of €3,240 (£2,566) as well as €4,000 in compensation to the victim.
A hacker has been jailed for two years in Spain for revealing hundreds of private emails written by a former colleague. The emails, which were taken from the former manager's work computer, divulged details of his sex life.
The hacker sent them to the manager's ex-wife, to a woman with whom he was having a relationship, and to the mayor of a council where he was working.
The emails were also copied on to other people who knew the victim.
A judge in Barcelona yesterday jailed the hacker, who was not named, for two years for an offence of "revealing secrets". He was also ordered to pay a fine of €3,240 (£2,566) as well as €4,000 in compensation to the victim.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Ex-Tory admits harassment charges
Ex-Tory admits harassment charges
A former Tory candidate has pleaded guilty to a campaign of harassment against his Liberal Democrat rivals.
One less nasty individual in the Nasty Party.
Barry George to be hounded by the authorities
Barry George to be hounded by the authorities
It was more convenient for the authorities had Barry George not been successful with his appeal against the conviction for the murder of Jill Dando. That is, they could have simply locked him up and thrown away the key. His innocence now presents them with a problem.
The Telegraph is reporting "Barry George to move back to Jill Dando area at a cost of £50,000 a year to taxpayer".
As I understand it, the area of London which Barry George wishes to return to is called Fulham. Why the Telegraph has chosen to rename it the Jill Dando area is beyond me. Fulham is where Barry George lived before the police decided to fit him up for a crime which he had not committed. He is entitled to go back to that area and pick up his life.
Prior to the authorities invasion into his life, Barry George apparently has a history of pestering women. However, it did not seem to warrant interference by the authorities at the time. Why has it suddenly become such a big problem?
The Telegraph reports that Barry George "is expected to be placed under a Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement, which is designed to supervise sex offenders". This response by the authorities seems to be designed to monitor someone who is guilty of the Jill Dando murder, not someone who has been declared innocent of the crime. When Barry George needed the assistance of the authorities they were nowhere to be seen.
If anything, the quicker Barry George is given an interim compensation payment and shown how to approach prostitutes the better it will be for all concerned.
Monday, August 04, 2008
12 months pub ban for man who killed wife...
12 months pub ban for man who killed wife...
A judge has told a Glasgow pensioner that stopping him going to the pub was a "more meaningful" sentence than a prison term for killing his wife.
Given that pub prices are more expensive, I tend to buy my drink from an off licence or supermarket. If this man does likewise, then the main purpose of the sentence is circumvented.
A judge has told a Glasgow pensioner that stopping him going to the pub was a "more meaningful" sentence than a prison term for killing his wife.
Given that pub prices are more expensive, I tend to buy my drink from an off licence or supermarket. If this man does likewise, then the main purpose of the sentence is circumvented.
Donald Duck and a Lame Duck
Donald Duck and a Lame Duck
No duck on menu at Bradman bash
An unusual lunch has been held in Sydney as part of the celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of Australian cricketer Donald Bradman.
Gordon Brown gets his ducks in line
Gordon Brown is planning a special Cabinet meeting outside London as he seeks to mount a fightback against questions over his leadership
No duck on menu at Bradman bash
An unusual lunch has been held in Sydney as part of the celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of Australian cricketer Donald Bradman.
Gordon Brown gets his ducks in line
Gordon Brown is planning a special Cabinet meeting outside London as he seeks to mount a fightback against questions over his leadership
Duncan Campbell is too unassuming in George case
Duncan Campbell is too unassuming in George case
Duncan Campbell in the Guardian, on the Barry George case, entitles his piece "Assume nothing" and it is subtitled "Barry George's acquittal reminds us that the days of miscarriages of justice are far from over".
Duncan Campbell writes "Unlike many previous miscarriage of justice cases, the police did not fabricate evidence or invent confessions".
It may be the case that the police did not this time invent confessions. However, I feel that Duncan Campbell is wrong to assume that the police did not fabricate evidence. Because, quite clearly the police did fabricate evidence, or at least the Forensic Science Service did. Neither the speck of gun powder nor the hair which were claimed to be evidence had any evidential quality whatsoever.
Duncan Campbell in the Guardian, on the Barry George case, entitles his piece "Assume nothing" and it is subtitled "Barry George's acquittal reminds us that the days of miscarriages of justice are far from over".
Duncan Campbell writes "Unlike many previous miscarriage of justice cases, the police did not fabricate evidence or invent confessions".
It may be the case that the police did not this time invent confessions. However, I feel that Duncan Campbell is wrong to assume that the police did not fabricate evidence. Because, quite clearly the police did fabricate evidence, or at least the Forensic Science Service did. Neither the speck of gun powder nor the hair which were claimed to be evidence had any evidential quality whatsoever.
Diego Garcia: the UK's shame
Diego Garcia: the UK's shame
Despite the denials, Britain is complicit in America's secret detentions on an Indian Ocean island
In both the UK and US the governments are supposed to be answerable to the electorate. It is not acceptable that they both claim ignorance in relation to torturing or facilitating torture.
Despite the denials, Britain is complicit in America's secret detentions on an Indian Ocean island
In both the UK and US the governments are supposed to be answerable to the electorate. It is not acceptable that they both claim ignorance in relation to torturing or facilitating torture.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Iain Dale 3rd most shaggable blogger in Britain
Iain Dale 3rd most shaggable blogger in Britain
The photo on the left is police killer David Bieber and his look alike on the right, is also a look a like for Peter Mandelson, is Iain Dale 25 years ago. Apparently, he has been voted as the third most shaggable blogger in Britain. First and second place were awarded to women. Which reminds me, yesterday I received my annual notification to visit my optician...
The photo on the left is police killer David Bieber and his look alike on the right, is also a look a like for Peter Mandelson, is Iain Dale 25 years ago. Apparently, he has been voted as the third most shaggable blogger in Britain. First and second place were awarded to women. Which reminds me, yesterday I received my annual notification to visit my optician...
A paedophile is not a sex tourist
A paedophile is not a sex tourist
The Sunday Telegraph reports: "Sex tourist Gary Glitter to have early release". I have a problem with the term Child Sex Tourism. It is as though this is just an activity one engages in on a holiday, a bit like sightseeing. Whilst I don't really have a problem with sex tourism, per se, providing it is between consenting adults. However, exploiting children for sexual gratification has to be a big no no in my book. I feel that the Sunday Telegraph should have called it what it is, that is, Paedophile Paul Gadd (aka Gary Glitter) to have early release.
The Sunday Telegraph reports: "Sex tourist Gary Glitter to have early release". I have a problem with the term Child Sex Tourism. It is as though this is just an activity one engages in on a holiday, a bit like sightseeing. Whilst I don't really have a problem with sex tourism, per se, providing it is between consenting adults. However, exploiting children for sexual gratification has to be a big no no in my book. I feel that the Sunday Telegraph should have called it what it is, that is, Paedophile Paul Gadd (aka Gary Glitter) to have early release.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Gordon Brown stars as Duff Shiteyear
Gordon Brown stars as Duff Shiteyear
Hat-Tip to Ron
And...
Just one question, Boris, show us how big is your willy?
Hat-Tip to Ron
And...
Just one question, Boris, show us how big is your willy?
Give climate change protesters a get out of jail free card
Give climate change protesters a get out of jail free card
One of the claims of living in a democracy is the right to protest. In Britain, it is disquieting to be informed that you have the right to protest, but if you exercise that right you may end up in jail. Do we really need to add to our overcrowded prisons political prisoners of conscience?
Climate change activists at Kingsnorth protest prepare for jail
One of the claims of living in a democracy is the right to protest. In Britain, it is disquieting to be informed that you have the right to protest, but if you exercise that right you may end up in jail. Do we really need to add to our overcrowded prisons political prisoners of conscience?
Climate change activists at Kingsnorth protest prepare for jail
Chink appears in the Great Firewall of China
Chink appears in the Great Firewall of China
"A small hole was knocked yesterday through China's fearsome system of internet censorship and surveillance, known as the Great Firewall. After substantial international pressure, China unblocked access to the websites of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Radio Free Asia and the BBC Chinese language service, for foreign journalists covering the games in Beijing. These pages could be read yesterday in other parts of China, but access to sites devoted to Falun Gong, Tibet, Chinese dissidents and the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations remained closed".
This is a start, and given that China has bowed down to international pressure over this issue the pressure should not be let up until the Great Firewall of China is pulled down like the Berlin Wall. It is too easy for China to accommodate the IOC until after the Olympic games then repair the breach.
Beijing Olympics: Government U-turn ends ban on human rights websites
"A small hole was knocked yesterday through China's fearsome system of internet censorship and surveillance, known as the Great Firewall. After substantial international pressure, China unblocked access to the websites of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Radio Free Asia and the BBC Chinese language service, for foreign journalists covering the games in Beijing. These pages could be read yesterday in other parts of China, but access to sites devoted to Falun Gong, Tibet, Chinese dissidents and the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations remained closed".
This is a start, and given that China has bowed down to international pressure over this issue the pressure should not be let up until the Great Firewall of China is pulled down like the Berlin Wall. It is too easy for China to accommodate the IOC until after the Olympic games then repair the breach.
Beijing Olympics: Government U-turn ends ban on human rights websites
Friday, August 01, 2008
Drug dealer shot dead in Hull
Drug dealer shot dead in Hull
A CONVICTED drug dealer has been found killed in his east Hull flat.
Neighbours, who did not want to be named, told the Mail John Rouse had been shot.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service, which attended Mr Rouse's flat in Westerdale Grove, east Hull, at 5.16pm yesterday, logged the call in the “stab/gunshot” category.
Police said they were treating the death as suspicious. A scientific examination was today continuing and a post mortem was due to take place today.
Mr Rouse, in his 40s, was jailed for five-and-a-half years in March 2002 for supplying drugs worth £162,000, including cocaine and ecstasy.
More news from Hull...
Court hears of 66,000 indecent images stored on former police chief's computer
COMPUTER equipment seized from the home of former Humberside Police officer Alec Alexander contained nearly 66,000 indecent images of children.
The ex-Humberside Police chief superintendent is currently on trial at Hull Crown Court charged with raping and abusing a young girl.
Yesterday, the court heard evidence about child pornography found on computer equipment in Mr Alexander's study, which police recovered during a search in January.
A CONVICTED drug dealer has been found killed in his east Hull flat.
Neighbours, who did not want to be named, told the Mail John Rouse had been shot.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service, which attended Mr Rouse's flat in Westerdale Grove, east Hull, at 5.16pm yesterday, logged the call in the “stab/gunshot” category.
Police said they were treating the death as suspicious. A scientific examination was today continuing and a post mortem was due to take place today.
Mr Rouse, in his 40s, was jailed for five-and-a-half years in March 2002 for supplying drugs worth £162,000, including cocaine and ecstasy.
More news from Hull...
Court hears of 66,000 indecent images stored on former police chief's computer
COMPUTER equipment seized from the home of former Humberside Police officer Alec Alexander contained nearly 66,000 indecent images of children.
The ex-Humberside Police chief superintendent is currently on trial at Hull Crown Court charged with raping and abusing a young girl.
Yesterday, the court heard evidence about child pornography found on computer equipment in Mr Alexander's study, which police recovered during a search in January.
Barry George was fitted up
Barry George was fitted up
It is clear that Barry George was fitted up to appease Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, leading the inquiry into Jill Dando's killing, and the Forensic Science Service assisted in this process.
It has to be said, that Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell should be charged with gross professional misconduct. It is not wrong to have a gut instinct, but it is wrong to falsify facts to make them fit a hypothesis. And it is wrong for the FFS to falsify reports of evidential findings. The meaningless forensic evidence was sexed up and presented as accurate and reliable, when in reality it was fabricated to fit the desire for a prosecution.
This analysis is damning. It has been drawn to my attention in the comments in the post below that the role of the BBC in reporting this case is questionable. That is a bias in favour of its deceased employee and against Barry George. I hope he sues the bastards!
UPDATE: Lord John Stevenson, the former Commissioner of the Met Police, said that the McCanns would never be prosecuted in England - he’s right the powerful and influential rarely are, but the likes of George, a mental retard, who has few friends can be prosecuted on a lot less evidence.
Of course, the print media that fiercely denounces the Portuguese police investigating the death of Madeline McCann for daring to name the McCanns as prime suspects, never really gave two hoots about Barry George, or the many other miscarriages of justice in the UK - they don’t sell papers.
It is clear that Barry George was fitted up to appease Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, leading the inquiry into Jill Dando's killing, and the Forensic Science Service assisted in this process.
It has to be said, that Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell should be charged with gross professional misconduct. It is not wrong to have a gut instinct, but it is wrong to falsify facts to make them fit a hypothesis. And it is wrong for the FFS to falsify reports of evidential findings. The meaningless forensic evidence was sexed up and presented as accurate and reliable, when in reality it was fabricated to fit the desire for a prosecution.
This analysis is damning. It has been drawn to my attention in the comments in the post below that the role of the BBC in reporting this case is questionable. That is a bias in favour of its deceased employee and against Barry George. I hope he sues the bastards!
UPDATE: Lord John Stevenson, the former Commissioner of the Met Police, said that the McCanns would never be prosecuted in England - he’s right the powerful and influential rarely are, but the likes of George, a mental retard, who has few friends can be prosecuted on a lot less evidence.
Of course, the print media that fiercely denounces the Portuguese police investigating the death of Madeline McCann for daring to name the McCanns as prime suspects, never really gave two hoots about Barry George, or the many other miscarriages of justice in the UK - they don’t sell papers.
Barry George not guilty of Jill Dando murder
Barry George not guilty of Jill Dando murder
Barry George has been found not guilty of murdering BBC television presenter Jill Dando outside her London home.
Jill Dando murder: Only a matter of time until Barry George was cleared
From the moment the Appeal Court quashed Barry George’s murder conviction last November and ordered a retrial, detectives privately conceded it was only a matter of time before he walked free.
It's time that Michael Stone was also found not guilty...
Jury dismissed in 7/7 plot trial
The jury in the trial of three men accused of helping the 7 July London bombers has failed to reach a verdict.
Diversity in prison on the increase
Diversity in prison on the increase
Record numbers of foreign prisoners are being held in jails in England and Wales, according to government figures published yesterday.
Or, to put it another way, the government's policy to deport foreigners convicted of criminal offences in this country has gone on holiday indefinitely...
Record numbers of foreign prisoners are being held in jails in England and Wales, according to government figures published yesterday.
Or, to put it another way, the government's policy to deport foreigners convicted of criminal offences in this country has gone on holiday indefinitely...
Prisons Minister right to reply is wrong
Prisons Minister right to reply is wrong
Why am I not surprised that a government minister has made a statement claiming that the government is right? Especially, given that David Hanson MP has responsibility for prisons as minister of state for justice, and that it is his department he is defending in his response to the Guardian piece by David Wilson. I would be surprised if he had said that the government was wrong. Which it clearly is.
David Hanson has made the same mistake recently made by Nick Herbert, ie, "Prisons are there to punish".
It is the role of magistrates and judges to punish offenders by the imposition of a sentence be it custodial or non-custodial.
The government has decided that it will build Titan prisons, therefore it needs to occupy the cell spaces otherwise it will be a costly and pointless exercise. Which it will be anyway, because the Carter Report advocating Titan prisons is flawed.
David Hanson concludes: "We need a sensible debate on the purpose of prison - I believe the government is right to say that it is there to punish and reform". I find it odd that he declares what the purpose of prison is, then advocates that there should be a debate on the purpose of prison, and once more states that he believes the government is right with its view of what the purpose of prison is.
Why am I not surprised that a government minister has made a statement claiming that the government is right? Especially, given that David Hanson MP has responsibility for prisons as minister of state for justice, and that it is his department he is defending in his response to the Guardian piece by David Wilson. I would be surprised if he had said that the government was wrong. Which it clearly is.
David Hanson has made the same mistake recently made by Nick Herbert, ie, "Prisons are there to punish".
It is the role of magistrates and judges to punish offenders by the imposition of a sentence be it custodial or non-custodial.
The government has decided that it will build Titan prisons, therefore it needs to occupy the cell spaces otherwise it will be a costly and pointless exercise. Which it will be anyway, because the Carter Report advocating Titan prisons is flawed.
David Hanson concludes: "We need a sensible debate on the purpose of prison - I believe the government is right to say that it is there to punish and reform". I find it odd that he declares what the purpose of prison is, then advocates that there should be a debate on the purpose of prison, and once more states that he believes the government is right with its view of what the purpose of prison is.
Police may abandon murder inquiry in Jersey
Police may abandon murder inquiry in Jersey
Isn't it a bit premature to think of abandoning a murder inquiry at the Jersey children's home?
I would have thought there must be records of children arriving at the home? If this is the case, then surely they can investigate to discover what became of the children from that point on? Then, may be, those that simply vanished from the records or recorded explanations which don't stand up to further investigation might produce the names of potential victims?
Isn't it a bit premature to think of abandoning a murder inquiry at the Jersey children's home?
I would have thought there must be records of children arriving at the home? If this is the case, then surely they can investigate to discover what became of the children from that point on? Then, may be, those that simply vanished from the records or recorded explanations which don't stand up to further investigation might produce the names of potential victims?
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