Is Our Value Of Life Going To The Dogs?

The news about the horrific deaths of two police dogs, as a result of being locked all day in a police officer’s car, was tragic to say the least. Despite colleagues of the officer breaking the car’s windows to save the animals (they had been suffering all day in high temperatures) animal welfare staff at the police dog training centre were unable to revive the two dogs.

Unsurprisingly, it made the headlines.

What is more horrifying to me, though, is that a story about two dying dogs has achieved far more print space than that given to the members of our armed forces, and the civilians, who have been killed in our various theatres of war.

So, why is it that we appear to accept the 'mistakes' of our politicians when they cause the cessation of human life but we are outraged when the stupid mistake of a police officer causes the death of two dogs?

It seems strange that people are calling for the officer in question to be prosecuted but are not so vocal in holding those elected officials who made such grave - and some say foolhardy and even criminal - decisions to account.

The world in which we live is definitely going to the dogs!

Can We Really Afford The Cost Of Stealing From The Courts?

The Justice Ministry has announced the cuts it will be making to the courts system following the Coalition’s spending review. Justice Minister, Jonathan Djanogly used the customary LibCon ‘get out of jail’ excuse for the cuts saying the present system is “unsustainable”.

93 Magistrates’ courts will be closed along with 49 County Courts but according to the Minister, at least 85 percent of people would be no more than an hour’s travel away from a court if they made use of public transport. That’s good then!

The only flaw to that argument, is many of those who would be likely to appear in front of a magistrate or a judge, do not have the available cash to be able to afford the fare for an hour’s journey using public transport - they will just fail to turn up! The police would then have to waste their own reduced resources in following up and executing any warrant issued.

Those courts still in operation, will be under growing pressure from their increased workload, causing longer delays before cases can be scheduled for a hearing. Both the accused and the accusers are likely to have to wait much longer before justice can be seen to be carried out. Eventually, the system is in danger of becoming gridlocked and cases of being diluted.

The government has argued it will make a saving of at least £15m a year in the day-to-day running costs of courts and around £22m in maintaining the premises. Of course, they will also be able to claw back a considerable sum by selling off the buildings which housed those courts facing the axe.

Overall, though, the saving seems a pittance compared to the total deficit faced by us all. With jobs being lost daily and repossessions on the increase, crime is likely to be one of the only growth industries over the next few years.

Such ‘spreadsheet politics’ could eventually prove to have a greater cost than that we are already paying!

Students Get Police 'Punchy' And 'Over Steamed' From Kettling

I was led to the video below from the Liberal Conspiracy website because I was interested in witnessing the footage of a policeman punching a student at the recent demonstrations in London; I was not disappointed.

I found it horrifying to witness the pure aggression of the officers who were forming the line blocking the students’ exit route from the containment area, used as part of the controversial police tactic of ‘kettling’.

Keep watching, after the punch, to see the attitude of the officer with the moustache and baton.

The police should remember that accountability from video surveillance can work both ways.

Welcome to the future!

Is This Our New Democracy?

On the day that Parliament was re-opened by The Queen and her new coalition government took control of the UK on a promise of a more fair society and the shrinking of a controlling state, it seems somewhat ironic, that long time anti-war campaigner Brian Haw was arrested this morning by the Metropolitan Police.

Mr Haw has been camping in Parliament Square, opposite the Houses of Parliament, for the past nine years and has succeeded in remaining a visible reminder to politicians and tourists alike, despite numerous attempts to have him removed, that not everyone is in agreement about the dubious wars we are fighting.

Today, the police arrested him for obstruction after he objected to their demand to search his tent as part of their security measures preparing for the Queen's arrival.

Director of Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti said:

"We are very sad to see that on a day that is supposed to celebrate British democracy, peaceful dissent is also shut down."

What more needs to be said?

Nosey Neighbours Speeding Us Along The Road To Communism!

As if things are not bad enough in our new Big Brother world, Kent police have started to issue some of its residents, in the larger towns, radar detection kits to check on the speed of passing motorists. If they are exceeding the limit, the speed flashes onto a large roadside sign and the vehicle's registration number is recorded by one of the vigilantes... errrm I mean... helpful citizens.

The police then send a warning letter to the naughty motorist although no legal action can be taken - yet anyway!

If the scheme is judged to be a success, then the rest of the county will follow and presumably soon after that the world!

This tactic, by the authorities, of encouraging us all to spy on each other I find to be very worrying. We have already seen TV adverts providing a dedicated phone number to shop those we suspect of being benefit scroungers.

What is more worrying is that there are people willing to take part in schemes such as these.

However, it is not a new idea. We spent many years, as a free society, criticising such actions when they were a part of everyday life in both Communist China and Russia.

Over to you Comrades!!

'Terrorism' 'Liberty' And The 'Fear of Fear!'

Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, comprised of peers and MPs from all parties, has reached a conclusion that many of us formed a long time ago - the government’s response to the threat of terrorism in the UK far exceeds the probability of an incident.

The committee has questioned whether ministers could legitimately argue, nine years after the 9/11 attacks, whether a “public emergency threatening the life of the nation” remained.

The government insists the threat from terrorism remains “real and serious”

A Home Office spokeswoman stated:

“The threat to the UK from terrorism remains real and serious and we are committed to doing all we can to protect our nation's security while protecting individual liberties using the proper safeguards.”

And therein resides the lie...

Individual liberties have been eroded massively since the turn of this century. A knee-jerk reaction, Anti-Terrorism Bill, was rushed through the commons after the attacks of 9/11 and 7/7. It was not properly drafted, or debated, and has introduced all sorts of restrictions on the ‘individual liberties’ we have been permitted to enjoy in recent years.

Local and district councils have used the bill as a ‘snoopers charter’, monitoring the recycling habits of residents within their boundaries, while tourists and photographers have been left open mouthed with shock, when stopped and searched by police officers for the potential terrorist crime of photographing public buildings. Refusal to comply with intrusive questions has often led to unjustified arrest. Nearly every time, the police officers themselves, do not understand the rights of individuals under the act.

Identity cards are still being discussed as a mandatory requirement for all of us residing in the UK and ministers use every opportunity to hype up the terrorist threat, to ensure we comply with their wishes to introduce even more controls over our everyday lives.

I have not bothered to go into the number of surveillance cameras operating in the UK since 7/7 or the diversity of their use, which cannot even be slightly justified by any terrorist threat.

I do not question whether the UK is a target from an act of terror in the foreseeable future. We have always been threatened by terror of one sort or another. The seventies were a far more dangerous period than that we are in now and it became a common occurrence to be within range of an IRA bomb going off in London. We were not, however, stopped in the streets for no reason, or surveilled by faceless camera operators while going about our daily lives.

I find it surprising that none of the mainstream political parties have mentioned the present erosion of our civil liberties as being something worthy of discussion in the forthcoming general election debates - or is it really that surprising?

Hitler’s Reich Marshall, Hermann Goering summed the politics up thus:

“…it is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.”

It seems nothing has changed!!

Troops Patrolling Streets Of UK?.....It Could Soon Happen!

Just when you thought it could not get any worse...it has!

We are already the most surveilled population of almost any country in the world and now it seems our controlling government are paving the way to be able to deploy the armed forces on the streets of Britain.

The news came in a Green Paper published yesterday as part of a strategic defence review. Of course, it uses the same old tired excuse - terrorism!

The report says decisions need to be made on the...

"balance between focusing on our territory and region and engaging threats at a distance"

and

"what contribution the armed forces should make in ensuring security and contributing to resilience within the UK".

I have no idea what the hell such a vague and all encompassing statement means but I do know that the possibility of troop deployment is a much more frightening prospect than the perceived threat it is supposed to be preventing.

However, it seems that the media are far more interested in publishing news of philandering sportsmen, than reporting on what would be an irreversible attack on our individual freedoms.

If we don't wake up to reality soon, we could all be dozing into a permanent nightmare!

Robin Hood And The Twitter Terrorist!

It’s a well known fact that Twitter is the place where terrorists the world over announce their intentions to commit another outrage. Well isn’t it?

Errrr actually no it’s not.

It is, instead, a place where millions of people the world over empty their heads by sharing thoughts that can sometimes be outrageous and stupid. It is not known for being a place of enormous intellect. It is communication in its simplest form - however irritating it can sometimes seem.

Unfortunately, no-one had told the officers of the South Yorkshire Police, who arrested a 26 year old man for tweeting, in total frustration at the effect the bad weather was having on his travel plans: "Robin Hood airport is closed," continuing "You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!"

A week after posting the comment, Paul Chambers was arrested at his place of work under the Terrorism Act and questioned for seven hours, before being released on bail.

He said "I would never have thought, in a thousand years, that any of this would have happened because of a Twitter post," and "I'm the most mild-mannered guy you could imagine."

He has since been suspended from his work, pending an internal enquiry and banned from Robin Hood Airport, in Doncaster, for life.

An expert on privacy laws and free speech, Tessa Mayes commented:

"Making jokes about terrorism is considered a thought crime, mistakenly seen as a real act of harm or intention to commit harm.

"The police's actions seem laughable and suggest desperation in their efforts to combat terrorism, yet they have serious repercussions for all of us. In a democracy, our right to say what we please to each other should be non-negotiable, even on Twitter."

Of course she is right.

No-one would ever dispute that we should take the threat of terrorism seriously but if we are to live in fear of being arrested everytime we make a misjudged comment or an attempt at a joke, then the terrorists have already won the war.

The police, of all people, should know the difference between a genuine threat and what is obviously nothing more than a foolish declaration of frustration.

Be careful what you say or you could find your self being apprehended by a right bunch of tweets!

Arse Kicking At Parliament Buildings!

For a country that has so many surveillance cameras the authorities can virtually see the state of your colon as you walk down the street - and all in the name of anti-terrorism - it comes as some surprise to learn that 50 Greenpeace campaigners (protesting against global warming) have been able to climb onto the roof of Westminster Hall, part of the Houses of Parliament, without being spotted by police officers guarding the high security building.

Even more amazingly, the demonstrators used ropes and ladders to climb the perimeter fencing - hardly items that can be concealed under everyday clothing.

Perhaps, the police guarding Parliament, are like the MPs they are supposed to be protecting - still on their annual vacation.

With everyone returning to work tomorrow, it seems likely that the arse kicking that will be sure to follow, will be increasing global warming even further!

Is Harriet Harman More Equal Than Anyone Else?

"I'm Harriet Harman, you know where you can get me."

Those are the words of Labour's deputy leader, Harriet Harman.

They were not the reassuring words of an MP to a worried constituent but, instead, are alleged to have been made to a witness, who saw a parked car hit by Ms Harman's vehicle, while she was apparently driving and using her mobile phone.

Ms. Harman denies the allegation and that she left the scene of the accident without supplying details of her registration or insurance.

The accident is said to have occurred in Dulwich, South London, on 3rd July and the police are waiting to question Ms. Harman. The reason for their delay is said to be because officers wanted to wait until after Labour's party conference last week. By anyone's calculations, that seems to be a long time to delay such an enquiry and we can only wonder why.

Ms. Harman is of course best known for officially promoting the case for women's equality.

It seems, though, that she sees herself, as being far more equal than anyone else.

I await with interest, the result of the police investigation!

UK Policing -A Change For The Worse!

Last time I checked, we were living in a free society where the right to demonstrate was just that - a right.

When it was peacefully carried out, it was unhindered by the police - intervention only came about after a public order offence was being, or likely to be committed.

This disturbing video report in the Guardian newspaper shows how police tactics have now changed for the worse and we should, perhaps, start examining our own society more closely before we start to criticise those in other countries.

Judge for yourself....

Minister Suspended For 'Sloppy Accounting'

When was the last time you made the 'mistake' of forgetting you had paid off your mortgage? To most sane people it would sound ridiculous.

Not so, apparently, to ex-Labour minister Elliot Morley, who has been exposed by the Telegraph as yet another greedy MP fleecing the public purse with his expenses.

He has claimed a staggering £16,000 on a mortgage he was no longer paying and the best bit...he says he had not even realised!

Like many before him, he is saying the claim had been a "mistake" and it was due to "sloppy accounting" on his part.

Unfortunately, unlike many of his colleagues, he will not be able to use the excuse he has done nothing wrong and was just obeying the rules.

After suspending him from the Parliamentary Labour Party, his boss, prime minister, Gordon Brown, stated:

"If there are any other disciplinary cases where we have to take action we will take action immediately."

We can only hope the action taken, will be to call in the police to investigate what appears to be a 'mistake' of the fraudulent type and that Mr Morley will not experience such 'sloppy accounting' when the judge passes sentence!

UK Is Slave Trade Destination.

One week after my post Heathrow Children Trafficked For Sex revealing children going missing into the slave trade from a children's home in Hillingdon, Parliament's Home Affairs committee has declared that the UK is fast becoming a destination of what amounts to a modern-day slave trade.

The MP's from all parties that make up the committee, have said there are at least 5,000 victims of trafficking in Britain.

Most of them are women and children and most are being forced into the sex trade or used as professional beggars on the streets.

Committee chairman Keith Vaz said:

Yes we have good information on the scale of the problem, enforcement is patchy, prosecution rates are low and there is little protection for victims"

Why is this being allowed to happen in 21st century Britain?

It seems that the Home Office need to bring together the UK Border Agency and the police and make them work together as a priority to bring this situation to a speedy end.

Heathrow Children Trafficked For Sex!

Q. How do you lose 80 children in just over two years?

A. Put them in a children's home run by Hillingdon council.

As incredible as it may seem, that is what has happened to many of the children - mainly of Chinese origin - who have arrived unaccompanied at Heathrow Airport.

They are taken to the home while their individual cases are investigated by officials and it is supposed to be a place of safety.

However, according to a confidential report written by the UK Border Agency and leaked to the Guardian newspaper two thirds of the children taken to the home disappear within a week. It is thought they are targeted by organised criminals and made to work in the sex industry or as street sellers for the drugs trade.

In the just one year, 77 children fled the centre and only four were traced; one was pregnant after having been forced to work in a brothel in the Midlands.

A spokesperson for Hillingdon Council tried to excuse their lamentable failure by saying;

"We cannot lock the doors because it's a breach of their human rights"

Surely, the real breach of human rights has been the total failure of the authorities to protect these children in the first place. It seems almost unbelievable that the situation has been continuing for so long and has only now been revealed because of a leaked official report.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling commented:

"To have such a large number of children going missing when they are supposed to be in care is unacceptable. We need an urgent explanation from the Home Secretary"

Therein lies the problem - it's that woman again!

Caught Off Camera - You're Nicked!

The boss of one of the main companies responsible for supplying speed cameras to the authorities has been fined £300 and banned from driving for six months for ......speeding!!

Tom Riall, is head of the Serco company which has provided around five thousand cameras across the UK. He was caught by a police patrol while driving at 102.9mph on the A14.

After his court appearance he is quoted as saying:

"I recognise that speeding is not acceptable. I very much regret what happened and I have made a full apology to the court."

It seems there is a balance to the world after all!

A Crashing Time For Police Drivers!

Figures obtained under the Freedom Of Information Act have revealed that police officers caused over 64 accidents per week last year - that's a staggering 3,357 over the full year.

Since 2004, the number of police-related car accidents has also included the loss of 150 lives.

These figures may even be lower than they should be, as ten regional forces declined to supply their own accident figures.

Staggeringly, some of the incidents were attributed to simple things like failing to use mirrors when reversing, failing to stop at junctions and taking bends too quickly. Over zealous driving while involved in chasing suspects was also a major cause of crashes.

The Royal Society For The Prevention Of Accidents commented that police should take heed of their accident rate and:

"lessen the risk of the same mistakes happening in the future"

Next time you get stopped for a suspected traffic offence take comfort from the fact it may be a classic case of 'don't do what I do - do what I say!'

Smile - You Must Be A Terrorist!

If it was not so ridiculous, it would be risible.

Austrian tourists, Klaus Matzka and his son Loris came to visit London - as millions of tourists do every year. The country depends heavily on welcoming visitors and we are blessed with some of the most interesting architecture in the world.

Klaus, a 69 year old ex TV cameraman, has an interest in transport and both he and his son took many pictures of red double decker buses. They also photographed the architecture around transport termini like Vauxhall and others.

It was while taking similar pictures in the borough of Haringey, they were apprehended by two police officers and told that photographing anything to do with transport, was "strictly forbidden". Their treatment by the police was either another misuse of anti-terrorism powers or the police officers involved were deliberately abusing their position - either way, it was totally untrue. They were then forced to delete every picture featuring transport before eventually being allowed to continue on their way.

Klaus said in a telephone interview:

I've never had these experiences anywhere, never in the world, not even in Communist countries."

It is within his words that the worrying truth is to be found. Years ago, we in Britain would have been severely critical of situations like this happening in countries behind the Iron Curtain. However, in the last few years, we have been sleepwalking into a modern form of communism with all its related restrictions on freedom. We have the highest rate of surveillance in the world and a massive amount of our personal information is being harvested and stored by the government and its various departments.

It is high time we all wake ourselves up, before incidents like this one become the accepted normality to us all!

Hillsborough 20 Years On

Today, is the 20th anniversary of the terrible disaster at Hillsborough stadium. Ninety six football fans were killed, just six minutes after the start of an FA cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.

Their deaths were caused by the panic that ensued after the terraces became overcrowded. An exit gate had foolishly been opened, allowing even more supporters to enter the area. The solid barriers by the pitch meant there was no escape for those at the front and they were crushed to death.

The police have been severely criticised for their handling of crowd control and many families of the deceased feel that justice has still not been achieved.

We can only hope, that the lessons learned from the disaster, will never be forgotten and such an incident is not permitted to happen again.

Police Need A Demonstration!

Another week and another police officer is suspended after being caught on video at the G20 demonstrations in London. This time, it is for allegedly striking a woman on the leg with his baton and hitting her in the face with his hand after she apparently swore at him.

Yesterday, the police from a different force, pre-empted a planned demonstration at a power station and arrested the demonstrators before they had even set off for the location. They had no idea whether it was to be a peaceful protest, or not, but decided to bring it to an end before it had even started. No-one was subsequently charged with any offence.

Democracy is built on the bricks made from freedom of speech; it is the right of everybody to voice their discontent and peacefully demonstrate at the site of their displeasure.

The police should attend to provide an impartial and visible deterrent to both sides in a dispute and to intervene only when a breach of the peace is likely to happen. However, since the 'reign' of Margaret Thatcher and the violent confrontations which took place with the miners, the police have become increasingly political; they are no longer seen as being impartial.

The assumption now, is that all demonstrators are hell bent on violent confrontation when normally, the majority are not. Of course, there has always been the minority who profess to be anarchists and try to incite violence but the police know that.

The present methods of containment used by the police are themselves confrontational. The practice of 'kettling', where demonstrators are held in one place, often for hours at a time, by officers wearing helmets and hidden behind riot shields, does not inspire confidence by those being 'contained'.

The new Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Paul Stephenson, has ordered a review into the methods used by his officers at the G20 protests.

Let's hope it is an impartial investigation and starts on the assumption that democracy is a right and not a gift from the government!

Met Police, Mistakes and the Media!

It has not been a good week for London's finest. The Metropolitan Police have been in the firing line, twice, in just a few days.

Firstly, they have been accused of contributing to the the death of a newspaper seller, who had a heart attack soon after being pushed to the ground, by an officer policing the unrest at the G20 summit last week. An officer has now been suspended, while a full investigation is carried out into the incident.

Today, the head of the anti-terrorism unit, Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, was forced to announce his resignation after being photographed leaving his car in Downing Street, while on his way to a meeting with the prime minister. He had inadvertently let photographers 'snap' him when he was carrying a document marked 'Top Secret' outlining a suspected terrorist plot.

While both of these incidents stem from individual moments of stupidity, what they have in common, is how they have been escalated so quickly by the way the media has handled them.

The first incident was recorded on video by a passing tourist who sent it to the media. The resulting images were immediately transmitted to the masses and helped generate the present outcry. Of course, as we know from televised sporting events, video taken from just one angle does not always show the true story and one could argue that there should have been a modicum of restraint before full publication took place.

In the case of Bob Quick, the detail on the paper in the photo could not have been read, unless image enhancement techniques were applied. The media could have shown more responsibility and withheld the story in the interest of National Security but instead they decided to expose the stupid error "blundering Bob" had made.

If we are all to continue to enjoy the basic right of freedom of speech and if we are to avoid laws denying us the right to take photographs openly in the streets, the editorial teams in our media are going to have to work a bit harder to curb their enthusiasm for a quick and easily exploitable story.

Freedom of speech is a delicate balancing act and there are plenty of politicians who would love an excuse to make us all slip from the wire!