The early worm catches the bird

Hat-Tip to Theo Spark for his altered FJL button which gave me the idea.

Just in case you were wondering...

Just in case you were wondering how Iain Dale is able to afford to order one of these? It is rumoured that it is because he has done this. Put Dale Mansion up for sale...



And this is why he needed to get rid of his old Audi cabriolet...

Ghost Town

I woke up early this morning and was on the computer by 7.20, because last night all hell broke loose with my stats and I was getting over 60 hits an hour. The majority were in relation to this post. Which is odd because it had been up since Saturday morning and although there was some increased traffic and it was my top story there was no explanation for the sudden surge. I thought that perhaps a top site had linked to it, but Technorati had not picked it up if this was the case. I checked Google and it did head their list of stories in relation to the tags in the posts title. It was a nice feeling to find that I had pipped the Times, a national newspaper, to the top slot. I was that chuffed last night that I emailed my blogging friend Not Saussure and suggested that he check both our stats out to see who was in front for the day. The other week I beat him for the first time since I have been stalking his stats, and now I chalked up a second victory. Its a good sign that you have arrived when you start receiving visitors who are top bloggers themselves, and I set myself the small target of reaching stats like Not Saussure receives. Respectable, but not over the top.

About 9 o'clock I took Rocky for his morning walk and we have to cross the normally busy Beverley Road (A1079), and could not believe how deserted it was both ways for as far as I could see. I momentarily thought that it was a Ground Hog Day situation and that it was a Sunday, but I remembered that that was yesterday. Spooky. Pearson Park was also deserted. I was trying to figure out why everything was so still. I thought, perhaps something untoward had happened last night and that I was the only person left on earth. True the weather had suddenly turned chilly and I had to put the heating back on.

Princess Avenue had signs of life, a few people and cars were about, still it appeared pretty much dead. Shops had shutters down. The local butcher was closed and the notice on the door said it opened Monday to Satuday 8-5, and it was gone 9 on a Monday morning and it was still shut. Perhaps, it's a Bank Holiday Monday, I thought. Sainsbury's was open and the staff in there confirmed that it was in deed a holiday. I could put my mind at rest as that had solved the mystery. Then I remembered that last week I had received a letter from the DWP informing me that I would receive my money early because of a holiday. I remember that I had checked the dates and thought that the letter was late in arriving, and put it out of my mind. Then I thought that I would just go and check the cashpoint across the road to see if there was any money in my account. Lo and behold, there was £150! That's nice as I was down to my last tenner.

Adventure over, a bacon sandwich a cup of coffee and back to the computer.

UPDATE: I was looking for a picture to go with this story and simply typed Ghost Town into Google and was directed to this brilliant site. Check it out.

Another update: Just discovered why my stats went crazy, somebody posted a link to me on the Daily Mirror online forum.

Britain's national shame

It was announced over the weekend that the government was seeking more powers to curb the threat of terrorism. However, the government already has more than enough powers at its disposal, and those have been abused as the courts have shown. For example, in 2002, Britain provided false information to America about Jamil el-Banna which led to him being arrested by the CIA and imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay without either charge or a trial. Now America accepts that Jamil el-Banna is not a suspected terrorist and has cleared him to be released from Guantanamo Bay. However, Britain is saying that it doesn't want an innocent man back. Why is this?

Mr Banna entered Britain from Jordan in 1994 after he was tortured. He was granted refugee status after it was accepted that he had been tortured. If he was returned to Jordan he faces being tortured again. His wife and children live in Britain. It is a national shame that Britain has decided that Mr Banna should remain in prison or return to Jordan and be tortured rather than face up to its responsibility for causing the false arrest and false imprisonment of an innocent man. I do not believe that the power should exist to cause unnecessary suffering to another human being just to hide from embarrassment.

No wonder the police have started to suspect the McCanns

BBC: MAN'S DESCRIPTION
White
5ft 10ins
Medium build
Short hair
Wearing a dark jacket, beige trousers and dark shoes
Carrying "a child or an object that could have been taken as a child".

Gerry McCann: "We feel sure that this sighting of a man with what appeared to be a child in his arms, is both significant and relevant to Madeleine's abduction," he said.

Times: A family friend of Gerry and Kate McCann has told police she saw a blonde-haired girl being carried away from an Algarve holiday apartment wrapped in a blanket at the time Madeleine is believed to have been snatched from her room...was on her way to dinner with Gerry and Kate McCann when she saw the man close to the open window of the bedroom where four-year-old Madeleine had been sleeping. The girl he was carrying was wearing pink pyjamas, the same as Madeleine's.

So, a family friend, who, conveniently, was several hours late going to dinner with the McCanns, says she sees a man by the McCanns flat, outside of an open window, with a blonde-haired, sleeping girl, wearing pink pyjamas, and she wasn't suspicious what this stranger was doing with her friend's 3 year old daughter?

Isn't hindsight wonderful with a £2.5M reward at stake? A possible vague sighting gets clearer and more colourful and more elaborate with each telling...just like in Chinese whispers.

Gerry McCann's mistake in seeking to control the mainstream media was that he forget to take into account the blogosphere. He said that the public hold the key to this mystery. He's right. All it requires now is for it to unlock his mind.

July 7 survivor harassed by internet stalker

July 7 survivor harassed by internet stalker

By Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:34am BST 27/05/2007

A survivor of the July 7 London bombings has been subjected to a year-long campaign of abuse and harassment by a "cyber-stalker" she has never met.

Rachel North, 36, feared for her safety after she was bombarded with threatening emails. They began arriving after she created an online diary to recount her experience in the Piccadilly Line blast, in which 26 passengers were killed.

The messages were sent by Felicity Jane Lowde, 41, a researcher, from Oxford. Lowde was convicted of harassment after failing to turn up for her trial at Stratford magistrates' court, east London, on April 2.

She is now on the run but has continued to send abusive messages.

A spokesman for Thames Valley police said that a warrant for Lowde's arrest had been circulated to all forces. Sgt Colin Brooker, of Oxford police, said: "It went to court and she was found guilty in her absence."

Miss North, who married last month, said the abuse had worsened her post-traumatic stress disorder and left her fearing for her safety.

Describing her ordeal in her blog, Miss North wrote: "I was concerned and deeply distressed by her behaviour, and completely unable to understand why she was targeting me, a stranger whom she had never met.

"I tried from time to time to reason with her, and then I warned her, clearly and politely, when she still did not stop, that what she was doing was harassment, and that if I did go to the police she could be prosecuted."

Among more than 100 emails and comments, Lowde described the campaign by July 7 survivors for a public inquiry as "a self-serving publicity stunt", and accused Miss North of "making a living on the backs of the dead".

Miss North said: "For someone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor guilt, this was the most hurtful thing that anyone could possibly have said. And I will admit now that it nearly made me go under."

In a series of messages sent last week, apparently from a cyber cafe, Lowde wrote: "You are a warmongering bitch. No one believes you. People hate you for what you've done. Stop trying to promote yourself and GO AWAY RACHEL.

"In your wedding picture you look happy to have got away with it. But time is ticking and you'll wind up in jail with the stupid grin wiped off your evil face."

During the police inquiry, Lowde alleged that it was she who was stalked by Miss North.

18Doughtystreet.com presenter cops it in Russia

Peter Tatchell who recently became a presenter on 18doughtystreet.com, the internet TV station, was arrested by police in Russia for causing a disturbance. The publicity seeker was also attacked by protestors.

PM's secret stalker squad has power to detain indefinitely

PM's secret stalker squad has power to detain indefinitely
By Ruth Elkins
Published: 27 May 2007

A new national anti-terrorist unit to protect the Prime Minister and the Royal Family from stalkers has been secretly set up with powers to detain people under mental health laws.

The Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC) was established last year with the aim of identifying individuals who pose a danger to important public figures in Britain, reported The Mail on Sunday. Since its inception the agency, which is also intended to protect members of the Cabinet, has been given powers to investigate more than 10,000 individuals to identify mentally unstable stalkers and potential killers fixated on public figures.

The news is thought likely to reignite debate on the harshness of government measures used to deal with terror suspects.

The FTAC, part of the Metropolitan Police's specialist operations department, which oversees anti-terrorism and royal and diplomatic protection, has the legal right to detain people indefinitely without trial, criminal charges or evidence of a crime being committed.

The unit's team of psychiatrists and psychologists have the power to prescribe treatment for suspected stalkers, including detaining them in secure psychiatric units.

Tony Blair is a TWAT - Who in their right mind wants to be shackled by him?

Tony Blair almost said, "This extremism from me is not like anything you have faced before". It is not that long ago, that he actually said that he believed he was right to follow George Bush into an illegal war on Iraq. Now he is saying that we are all wrong again, and so is the law, and so are our judges, and so is our belief that we should have civil liberties.

Tony Blair is right about one thing, his extremism, "It needs to be confronted with every means at our disposal".



The Queen doesn't look too impressed with Blair either. I agree Ma'am, we are not amused...

What effing war?

Hat-Tip to Ron for this photo.

It is one thing for the Executive to be given Emergency Powers in times of war. Quite another for the Executive to be demanding them in times of peace. It is frightening that John Reid has not been subjected to a Control Order. The man is obviously quite mad, bad, and dangerous to know. This measure should be stopped at all costs. John Reid has taken it upon himself to become the Head of the Stasi or the KGB. When the police and psychiatrists join forces to lock people up without trial, it is more like Soviet Psycho-Prisons than a democracy we live in.



Whatever happened to Dixon of Dock Green?

Tory sleaze - keep it in the family

The mafia tend to keep it in the family to exclude from outsiders what naughtiness they are up to. So too with the Tory Mafia.

Pentagon worried about China's submarine military build-up

Pentagon warns of China's military build-up

By Toby Harnden in Washington
Last Updated: 4:09am BST 26/05/2007

China is developing long-range nuclear missiles that have the capacity to hit America, a Pentagon report said yesterday.

The report, delivered to Congress, highlighted increased American concerns that China is an expansionist power, aggressively building up its military forces so it had the capacity to launch "pre-emptive" strikes.

China's development of weapons, including a recent test in which a satellite was shot down "is expanding from the traditional land, air, and sea dimensions of the modern battlefield to include space and cyberspace," the report said.

"The expanding military capabilities of China's armed forces are a major factor in changing East Asian military balances; improvements in China's strategic capabilities have ramifications far beyond the Asia-Pacific region," it said.

Beijing was accused of trying to hide its military build-up. "China's published defence budget does not include large categories of expenditure, including expenses for strategic forces, foreign acquisitions, military-related research and development, and China's paramilitary forces."

The Chinese Communist Party's "heavy reliance on secrecy acts in tandem with military deception", the report said, although it noted that this could prove to "be a double-edged sword, confusing China's leaders as much as China's adversaries".

Among the weapons of greatest concern to the United States is the mobile, land-based DF-31A intercontinental ballistic missile which could reach anywhere in America and five Jin-class submarines, equipped to carry missiles with a 5,000-mile range.

A map in the report shows that the US is within range of the DF-31As and the CSS-4, also known as the Dong Feng 5.

"China currently is capable of targeting its nuclear forces throughout the region and most of the world, including the continental United States," the caption said. China could be in danger of over-reaching, however, because its "ability to sustain military power at a distance, at present, remains limited".

The report said that Chinese military training focusing on no-notice, long-range air strikes "could also indicate planning for pre-emptive military options in advance of regional crises".

The Pentagon report also condemned the successful anti-satellite test conducted in January, which was China's first. "The test put at risk the assets of all space-faring nations and posed dangers to human space flight due to the creation of an unprecedented amount of debris."

Robert Gates, the Pentagon chief, said the report was a sober assessment of China's weapons systems and intentions. "It paints a picture of a country that is devoting substantial resources to the military and developing... very sophisticated capabilities."

Police focus on the McCanns as suspects

The police in their leaving no stone unturned search for the missing Madeliene McCann now appear to have switched their focus upon Gerry and Kate McCann as being prime suspects in the investigation. I would be surprised if the police did not brief the presenters of both the BBC and Sky what questions they would like them to ask so that they could study the tapes for tell tale signs during the answers given by both Gerry and Kate McCann.

I think that it is right that they feel guilty for the disappearance of Madeliene. It was irresponsible for them to have gone off and left three young children home alone, and I don't accept that it is what thousands of other parents would have done. And, if this is the case, is it what thousands of professional couples would have done? Gerry McCann stated that he felt guilty that they were not there when Madeliene was abducted. The point is, if she was abducted, it would not have happened had they been there. He also said that he would have felt just as guilty had they been in the next bedroom when she was abducted, again, it would not have happened had they been in the next bedroom.

A couple of things that stand out for me are Gerry McCann's desire to control things, for example, "Influencing the publicity side of it", and, "The fund was really evolved to provide an outlet for people who wanted to contribute financially". I would like to know how The International Family Law Group became involved, did they contact the McCanns or vice versa? Finally, the McCanns announced that they had no intention of coming back to the UK. Personally, I can't wait to get back home.

BBC interview with the McCanns.

Sky News interview with the McCanns.

He needs help not more prison

Robber, 74, gets sentence wish
A homeless 74-year-old man who robbed a bank because he was desperate to return to jail has been granted his wish - a five-year sentence.

Robert Newnham told staff at the Halifax in Dorchester, Dorset, that he had a gun and demanded £1,000.

Newnham, who had been just released from jail, later told police it was easier to rob a bank than try to organise his pension.

He admitted one count of robbery at Dorchester Crown Court.

Earlier the court had heard the alcoholic had become institutionalised and committed the robbery so he would be sent back to prison.


He didn't have the knowledge or the faculty to get his pension and decided the only way he could get money was to commit this offence
David Campbell, defending

David Campbell, defending, told the court Newnham had struggled to cope with his alcoholism after being released from prison.

He added: "He didn't have the knowledge or the faculty to get his pension and decided the only way he could get money was to commit this offence in the knowledge there would be only one option - that of prison."

Recorder Andrew Langdon QC, told Newnham he would serve at least half the sentence before being released on licence.

Mr Langdon said: "This was far from being a well-planned or ruthless robbery.

"You were, as you so often are, drunk - you were almost incoherent."

But he added: "It was no less frightening for the victim that you were 74 as opposed to 64 or 54 or 44."

The court heard Newnham has been offending for 36 years with almost annual shoplifting convictions since 1983.

'Nowhere to live'

He also has previous convictions for possessing offensive weapons in public.

This latest offence was his third conviction for robbery.

He was jailed for six years in November 1998 at Chichester Crown Court for robbing a bank in Worthing, West Sussex, which was later reduced to four and a half years by the Court of Appeal.

In August 2002, he was jailed for five years for robbing a bank in Croydon, London, in March 2002.

When police arrested him in Dorchester after his latest robbery he had £940 in £10 and £20 bank notes on him and had not spent any of his loot, the court heard.

The 37 days Newnham has already spent in custody will be deducted from his sentence.

Det Con Jon Bayliff, from Dorset Police, said: "He said to us it was easier for him to rob a bank than to get his pension sorted out.

"He didn't have anywhere to live and was having a few problems."

UPDATE: See this similar situation in South Africa.

Cyber-stalker wanted by the police

Have you seen this woman?

Lest we forget

Every November we hold a service of remembrance, lest we forget, for those who gave their lives during conflicts so that the rest of us may live in peace. Last night Iain Dale's Diary blogged this post which is deserving of a wider audience and greater support. It is rare to get the chance to remember the deed of a living hero, who gave so much when we needed him. And now it is intended to repay him with a cold shoulder, a slap in the face, with such contempt we would not show to a dog. His conduct was faultless. Ours is shameful. There is time and the opportunity to reverse this shameful decision made in our name. Let us all inform the relevant authority that we do not support nor tolerate this disgusting conduct from those supposedly representing us. Whatever our political hue, differences of opinion, the blogosphere and mainstream media should unite and show vociferous solidarity in this genuine cause.

UPDATE: I have just emailed my MP Diana Johnson, so there is really no excuse for her not knowing about this case and raising it either in the House of Commons or with the relevant authority.

Control Freak John Reid

From The Independent: Reid threatens to suspend human rights laws after terror suspects go missing
By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent
Published: 25 May 2007

John Reid faced growing anger as he signalled the Government was ready to declare that Britain faced an "emergency" over terrorism and opt out of human rights legislation.

As the recriminations flew over the disappearance of three radical Islamists who had been on control orders, he made clear his determination to bring in tougher curbs on terror suspects. The Home Secretary said that could mean "derogating" from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) so he could impose tougher control orders on suspects.

The convention, which entered British law via the Human Rights Act, allows countries to suspend parts of the ECHR in "time of emergency".

Control orders, which restrict movements and contact with other people for terror suspects who cannot be brought to court, were introduced two years ago. They replaced the detention without trial of the "Belmarsh detainees," which was ruled illegal.

The latest disappearances bring to six the number of people on control orders who have vanished in the past year and have left the control-order system in disarray. A major police search was under way last night for Lamine Adam, 26, his brother Ibrahim, 20, and Cerie Bullivant, 24, after they went missing this week. Police believe they may try to travel to Iraq or Afghanistan.

A third Adams brother, Anthony Garcia, 25, was jailed for life last month for his part in the "fertiliser bomb" plot to attack targets including a shopping mall and a London nightclub.

Bullivant is due to stand trial over claims he breached his control order on 13 occasions over the past 10 months. All three had been assessed at the lower end of risk, but the fact that they co-ordinated their disappearances has alarmed the police.

Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, said: "Nobody can be perfectly satisfied they are not a risk to the public here, but the intelligence is pointing in another direction."

However, Mr Reid had said the men were "not considered at this time to represent a direct threat to the public in the UK".

News of the absconders triggered fiery clashes over the control-order system in the Commons. The Home Secretary admitted that he would prefer to detain terror suspects or deport those who are foreign nationals, but said he was constrained by legal and political opposition to that approach.

He said he wanted to impose tougher control-order regimes, but was hampered from doing so by court judgments under the ECHR. Mr Reid said he wanted the convention modernised by European leaders to reflect the realities of the terrorist threat. But he added: "We will consider other options, which include derogation, if we have exhausted ways of overturning previous judgments on this issue."

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: "By threatening to derogate from the European Convention on Human Rights, John Reid reveals a worrying mix of sloppy thinking and buck-passing." He said it was "wildly inaccurate to claim that the three escapees were somehow helped by our respect for human rights".

David Davis, the shadow Home Secretary, said the escapes were caused by the Government failing to use existing powers, such as tagging suspects. He also said the delay in releasing the identities of the fugitives had allowed them to flee abroad.

"He is now blaming his own Human Rights Act when he has not even tried to derogate under its provisions. He can blame the courts and the opposition, but the problems are of his own making," Mr Davis said.

Shami Chakrabarti, the director of the campaign group Liberty, said: "This is last year's rhetoric from yesterday's Home Secretary".

From The Guardian.

From the Telegraph.

Rocky 5 in doggy paddle

Taking Liberties

Taking Liberties: Dedicated to Rachel North London for the liberty FJL it taking.

US cyber-stalker flees to Europe to evade justice

The thought suddenly struck me as I was reading this story that I suspect FJL sees herself as an English version of Patricia Cornwell. Only in her case it is her who cyber-stalked Rachel North London.

In any event, it is difficult to see how Patricia Cornwell will get a satisfactory conclusion to the case because the cyber-stalker will probably continue to stalk her from Europe where the US law has no force.

Perhaps, it is time that a world wide law is drafted to combat this menace and provide no hiding place for cyber-stalkers?

China to drop its ban on anonymous bloggers.

UPDATE: FJLs latest cyber-stalking of Rachel North London.