'Reasonable Grounds for Suspicion...

...of a Breach of Civil Rights'?

I wonder if this, from the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 will have any bearing;

"Reasonable grounds for suspicion cannot be based solely on attitudes or prejudices towards certain types of people, such as membership of a group within which offenders of a certain kind are relatively common"

It's the groups of Afro-Caribbean, Muslim, hoody-wearing, cannabis-smoking, hip-hop listening football fans I fear for. And the Welsh.



Police could get 'stop and question' powers

The government is considering giving police the power to stop and question anyone under new anti-terrorism laws.

At present, officers can stop and search individuals if they have "reasonable grounds for suspicion", but have no right to ask about their identity or movements.

Anyone who refuses to co-operate could be charged £5,000 according to the Sunday Times, which uncovered the proposals.

The paper published a letter to the prime minister from police minister Tony McNulty, in which he backed the idea.

He wrote: "One of the public criticisms of [stop and search] has been that it is over-used.

"Arguably one of the weaknesses of [stop and search] is it does not enable a police officer to ask that individual who they are or where they are going.

"Therefore a less intrusive power of stop and question that could be used in the first instance would be useful.

"The effect of this power should therefore be to reduce the number of times stop and search is used."

Home secretary John Reid is said to want to push through a counter-terrorism bill before he and Tony Blair leave office next month.

Reports said the bill would also give police the power to take documents away for examination even if their value as evidence is not immediately obvious, and the power to remove vehicles to examine them.

A Home Office spokesman said: "We are considering a range of measures for the bill and 'stop and question' is one of them."
'Police state'

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg accused the government of seeking to create a "police state".

"Tony Blair and John Reid are clearly determined to leave office in a blaze of headlines," he said.

"But their increasing determination to go out talking tough will leave a trail of half truths, rushed laws and unhelpful controversy behind.

"Pushing for the powers of a police state is probably the best guarantee for increased radicalism in exactly those communities where we need cooperation to defeat terrorism."

Shadow foreign secretary Williams Hague said the Conservatives would consider proposals on their merits but warned they would need popular consent.

Speaking on BBC1's Sunday AM, he said: "When they [the government] tried to argue for a 90-day detention of people without charge, they couldn't come up with any actual instance of when it had been necessary and so we voted against it.

"So we will listen to the proposals... but they have to be proposals consistent with popular consent in this country and with not alienating the people whose cooperation we need in the fight against terrorism.

"We don't live in a country thankfully, where we just do anything that 10 Downing Street say or the police say.

"We do live in a country where, with some rational debate and consultation between political parties, we ought to be able to support what is necessary to fight terrorism."

Northern Ireland secretary and Labour deputy leadership candidate Peter Hain, speaking on the same programme, said: "We cannot have a reincarnation of the old 'sus' laws under which mostly black people, ethnic minorities, were literally stopped on sight and that created a really bad atmosphere and an erosion of civil liberties.

"But we have got to be very clear in balancing civil liberties, jealously guarding them - and I have fought for civil liberties all my life - and being clear on protecting people's security."

Eggs

Shopping alone on a Sunday afternoon,

I noticed a product that reminded me of you.

It was eggs

and I hate eggs.

The same.

They walk in line, following the same strict code
of what not to wear, how not to speak,
reading the same prescribed print
through the same prescribed lenses.

A grunt of gratitude or apology, an avoidance of eye contact
as they, unknowingly, think the same thoughts
of the same FTSE high flyer and the same near-breaking-point-babe.

Change here for uniformed mediocrity,
The next stationed stop will be indistinguishable.

That man is talking to himself.
That man is Asian.
'Don't blow yourself up today, I've got a meeting with Claire from New Media
about the Customary Corp. account.'

The same branding, the same blue and white collars, the same attitude.
The same hate, the same adoration.
The same currency.
The same fear, the same lust.
The same.

Peter Akinola; another backwards Christian.

Parishes in Virginia split from Episcopal Church

'FAIRFAX, Va. --Two of the largest Episcopal parishes in Virginia voted overwhelmingly Sunday to break from The Episcopal Church and join fellow Anglican conservatives forming a rival U.S. denomination.
Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church plan to place themselves under the leadership of Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, who has called the growing acceptance of gay relationships a "satanic attack" on the church.'

This isn't the first time this bigot in a robe has embarrased himself. When Muslims rioted over the publishing of cartoons depicting their profit Muhammed, Akinola said "May we at this stage remind our Muslim brothers that they do not have the monopoly of violence in this nation". A veiled (perhaps the wrong choice of word) threat if ever I've heard one.

Akinola has written this article about his objections to homosexuality where he, in such a beautifully all-encompassing Christian manner, tells us 'homosexuality or lesbianism or bestiality is to us a form of slavery' and that 'For us, it is better seen as an acquired aberration'. Aberration! Says the man who thinks of glorified fairy tales like Adam and Eve as factual, historical events!

I can forgive delusional religious people the occasional stupid comment, they are, after all, not of sound mind. But when it comes to hate mongering from the likes of Akinola, I find it hard defend them, mentally ill or not.

Go ahead, drink fast, you won't die.

'If you drink in a hurry you will die',
she said.

I asked her if it was true.
She told me it wasn't.

The lying sneek.

The human desire to self-categorise.

This is something I touched on very briefly in my Carlo Giuliani blog.

Most people I've met (myself included) attempt to categorise themself in one way or another.

Types of self-categorisation

There are many ways in which we try to do this; through music taste, fashion, interests, beliefs/ politics, religion, nationality/ place of birth/ residence, sport, our addictions/ drug intake, sexuality, ethnicity, criminal history, career/job, social class, our family history/ ancestry, age...

Why?

For a sense of belonging? A promised afterlife? Something to do with our time? Comfort and support? Justification? Confirmation or reassurance? For an explanation? Forgiveness? Does it date back to basic animal instinct and given roles? Is it all just a slightly more sophisticated cave-man-like role designation coupled with innate pack mentality?

Is our self-categorisation accurate?

Or is it just what we aspire to, our individual idealism? Do we live the life of the definition we place on ourselves? Can any one truly be a communist/ pacifist/ Christian/ anarchist?

Is all that matters the impossibility of accurately pigeon holing oneself? Is that because we are all (as hard as we may try to belong to something bigger than ourselves) individual?

Is this all a bit Dawson's Creek?




OK. So this blog is just a series of questions. Maybe one day I'll make a (possibly futile) attempt to answer them. In the meantime I'd love to hear other people's opinion. It's something I've been thinking about a lot recently.

Robert Kilroy-Silk

Nothing revolutionary here, just confirmation that Robert Kilroy-Silk is, as we all know, a cunt.

The Irish. In 1992 the Daily Express apologised for printing a Kilroy column which described Ireland as a country peopled by peasants, priests and pixies. (9 Nov 1992.) He has been wary of going public on the subject ever since, though a couple of years ago his Sunday Express column included a swipe at "no-mark countries such as Belgium and Ireland" (28 Jul 2002) - "no-mark" being a favourite Kilroy expression of contempt.

The Scots. No better than the Irish. "The Scots suffer from a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to the English," Kilroy reveals (19 May 2002). "Scotland is dying," he adds. "Between a quarter and a third of its graduates escape every year, mostly to England!.. They cannot bear to live in their own country" (9 Mar 2003).

Pakistanis. "Here we go again," Kilroy sighs. "The minister responsible for defining the British identity, Michael Wills, still obviously feels the need to pander to the multicultural lobby, even at the cost of making himself look ridiculous. He solemnly proclaimed: ‘The essence of being British is that you can be British and Pakistani, British and Scottish, British and Geordie.’ What a dumbhead!... Will someone please inform him that Scots are British, that Geordies are British, but that Pakistanis are not. They’re Pakistanis!" (23 Dec 2001). And Kilroy takes a dim view of the Pakistanis. "Rather than promote peace and understanding between people, the Pakistanis want to generate hate," he writes. "But then what else can we expect from Pakistan?" (7 Jul 2002)

French. Not Kilroy’s favourite race - "devious" (2 Feb 2003), "treacherous... not to be trusted" (16 Feb 2003) and "self-regarding" (9 Mar 2003). In short, they are utterly unlike the British and Americans, who "can be relied upon to keep their word and to act with altruism to a degree that would seem foolish to the French" (13 Apr 2003).

Germans. Kilroy finds the Germans "truculent" (2 Feb 2003). As he asks: "Is there no limit to their brazen cheek?" (13 Apr 2003).

Russians. They are "opportunist" (2 Feb 2003) and "posturing" (9 Mar 2003). But maybe not quite as bad as the French.

Africans. No bloody good at all. "Africa’s plight is mostly the fault of Africans," Kilroy notes (5 Oct 2003). "Most of what is good and decent in Africa has been provided by Europe and the United States."

Iraqis. What a rabble! "They are not grateful for being liberated. They do not appreciate that the coalition forces are attempting to build a decent, democratic, civilised country. They certainly do not appear to be either able or willing to contribute to its reconstruction. Why should we put British lives on the line for this lot? They are not worth the life of one British soldier, not one. All they seem to do is moan, incessantly, about their lack of amenities" (29 Jun 2003).

Asylum-seekers. "The barmy liberals like Diane Abbott don’t like the word ‘swamped’ when used by the Home Secretary to describe schools and GPs’ surgeries being overrun by asylum seekers who cannot speak English. What word would they prefer? Overwhelmed? Drowned? Submerged? What is the problem with using proper English words to describe an appalling situation that many British people have to put up with?" (28 Apr 2002). But Kilroy has a solution: "It is simple enough. We station paratroopers a mile from the British end of the [Channel] Tunnel.. The paras herd the immigrants together and cart them off to Dover where they are dumped on a secure slow boat to -- wherever" (17 Mar 2002).

Black people in general. "Can we ask why whites are usually better swimmers than blacks?" Kilroy wonders (5 Jan 2003). "Can we, moreover, articulate some other, less palatable truths: that there is, for example, more racial prejudice within and between ethnic minorities in Britain than there is between the white indigenous population and immigrants? Can we acknowledge that black youths are responsible for the majority of gun and street crime and that it is they who ought therefore to be targeted without feeling the necessity to point out that the majority of burglars and conmen are white?... Yes, of course we can -- and we should." Kilroy can’t stand "pushy blacks" or "talentless blacks and Asians" (19 Aug 2001.) Or whingeing ones: "Are you fed up of some bleating blacks and Asians blaming their own failures on how their forefathers were exploited by the British Empire?... Why don’t they stop whining and get a life?" (7 Dec 2003). Not that he’s slow to defend black people when they’re genuinely oppressed: a few years ago he took up the case of a black motorist who was stopped by the police in Cheltenham. The man in question was, er, Kilroy’s chauffeur.

Foreigners in general. Otherwise known as "parasitic foreigners" and "dodgy foreigners". (2 Dec 2001). Kilroy gets very angry if anyone blames the rise in British HIV cases on sexual promiscuity or suggests that TB might have something to do with inadequate sanitation, bad diet, poverty, etc. "The indigenous population is not responsible. The diseases are being brought here by refugees, immigrants and tourists... It is the foreigners that we have to focus on" (1 Dec 2002). And focus he does.

Arabs. "Can everyone stop blaming the British and Americans for the fact that there are a load of thieving Arabs in Iraq?" he demands (4 May 2003). "The orgy of thieving in Iraq has more to do with the character of the people than the absence of restraining troops." So what is the Arab character? "There could be few starker demonstrations of the difference between Britain and the United States and the Arabs than the manner in which they treat their civilians and their dead," he writes (4 Jan 2004). "While the Arabs desert their dead soldiers in the desert to be buried with reverence by the Americans, we go to enormous lengths to retrieve every single body... Who says that all cultures are morally equal?" Certainly not Kilroy, who regards the Arabs as a waste of space. "Few of them make much contribution to the welfare of the rest of the world. Indeed, apart from oil -- which was discovered, is produced and is paid for by the West -- what do they contribute? Can you think of anything? Anything really useful? Anything really valuable? Something we really need, could not do without? No, nor can I."

Thanks to the Private Eye and 'Bus To Holt Park' for this.

Do you know what really fucks me off? A rant about the tube.

The way people laugh and roll their eyes back in a jovial manner when the driver makes an 'hilarious' announcement such as 'Once again we've got a signal failure at Maida Vale but never mind, I've only got two hours left on my shift!!!'. Fuck off, you're about as funny as the situation in Rwanda. I hope the final two hours of your shift coincide with your final two hours of life.

Fairly obviously, people playing their music on the loud speaker of their mobile phone. If I wanted to listen to your shit R & B I'd deserve it forced into my ears indefinitely. As it stands, I don't and I don't.

People sitting on the outside seat and making passengers who've just joined the train climb over them. The next time someone does this I'm going to slowly take out the tip of my penis and wipe it against their lap as I clamber over them.

People who have a problem with me reading over their shoulder. If these petty £2000 suit wearing arseholes insist on sharing my oxygen I insist on sharing their so-called (FREE) newspapers.

Most of all, the utter cunts who stand infront of the doors when I'm trying to get off the train. I've started just standing there staring at them until they move. I can stand all day. It's well worth missing my stop to make those thoughtless scumbags miss their train. There's twenty of them and only one of me. A very reasonable trade-off.

Homophobia in Football

Peter Tatchell's blog on the matter

I hope I'm not alone in outrage that homophobia is still socially acceptable in many walks of life, not least football. It seems hugely important to me that it is tackled in such an overtly heterosexual male dominated environment.

Although, for me, petition signing seems largely futile, it's the first step in showing that not every football supporter is a bigot.

It's only 8 years since the horrific news of Justin Fashanu's (Britain's first and possibly only openly gay footballer) suicide. Precious little has changed since then.

Why, in a world where racism is largely admissible, is there still acceptance of such similar bigotry?

News Round-up

Tornado tears up London streets
"A "mini-tornado" has swept through several north London streets, leaving over 100 properties damaged as stunned residents could only look on."

I live 2 minutes away from the 'epicentre' of the tornado. The media reaction to it was pretty hilarious. Every time we have any sort of 'freak weather' occurrence they go loopy. Did they forget that we have damaging tornados fairly regularly? Last year Birmingham, the year before that Yorkshire.

Taken from the TORRO website; 'When land areas are taken into account, the United Kingdom actually has the highest frequency of reported tornadoes per unit area in the world.' (Thanks to Stu CSM for this).

Is someone trying to scare us? Surely not.


Hamas: we will never recognise Israel

"The Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, today said his Hamas-led government will never recognise Israel and will continue to fight for the liberation of Jerusalem."

And why the hell should they recognise an illegal occupation as anything other than an illegal occupation?



Norman Kember- An inspiration.

"Norman Kember, the peace activist who was held in Iraq for four months, said today he and two other men abducted with him "unconditionally" forgave their captors and asked an Iraqi court to show leniency towards them."

We still have people who weren't even born in time to remember WWII hating the entire German nation, and the killers of James Bulger being labelled 'evil' and vigilantes swearing they will kill them on their release, for a hideous crime, but one they committed so very young.

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful emotions we humans possess, if someone like Norman Kember can show it in times like this then so many of us have so much to learn. With prisons so over subscribed maybe forgiveness, alongside rehabilitation, could go a long way to improving our communities.

UNITE AGAINST FACISM PROTEST AGAINST FASCIST BNP RALLY IN BARKING & DAGENHAM THIS SATURDAY

From a Love Music, Hate Racism/ Unite Against Facism newsletter. Give me a shout if you intend to go.

Assemble 1pm, Saturday 9th December.
Civic Centre, Dagenham, RM10 7BN
(Off Wood Lane; District Line Tube Stations: Dagenham East/Dagenham Heathway)

LMHR is asking all our supporters in and around London and Essex to attend this major counter-protest against the fascist BNP in Barking and Dagenham.

The BNP Nazis are attempting to stage an open public rally in London for the first time in 20 years. The BNP's increased presence in the borough (where they have 12 local councillors) has seen racist attacks rise by more than 60% year-on-year. The BNP are trying to whip up racism against black people based on a lie that "Africans" are to blame for the borough's housing shortage.

Unite Against Fascism are calling on people to book transport to the event and for local public sector workers to protest in uniform, with union and other banners and for everyone to bring delegations of people from where you work, live or study. We need the maximum possible turnout in unity against the racist lies of the BNP.

Please use the leaflet from our website to mobilise others.

Contact UAF with details of any transport booked on unite@ucu.org.uk 020 7833 4916. www.uaf.org.uk

Overheard on public transport. Part 2

Note the subtle name change, to allow for alternative methods of getting from A to B...

Father: Calm down, you need some Valium or something.

Son (roughly 16): That's what they used on that Russian spy isn't it?

Father: Ha! No...

Son: It is, I'll prove it when we get home on the internet. What is Valium anyway?


The perfect Christmas present (for the bloke who just murdered your first born)

Papa Roach- The Paramour Sessions

Fairly obviously, Papa Roach are dreadful. I hope you don’t need to read a review to establish the fact you SHOULD NOT BUY THIS ALBUM.

In fairness (although I don’t see any reason to be fair, this band insults me, they started it) the music is occasionally bearable. The album opener ‘…To Be Loved’, when it kicks in, gets your foot tapping. Predictably, it’s massively unoriginal, but it’s not doing owt wrong.

It’s the lyrics that really make me want to rip out my auditory nerves.

‘I keep fucking up everything’. Yes, you do. Namely, you fuck up in making music that doesn’t make me feel anything but shame that I, like you, am human.

‘God forbid I’ve been a letdown’. Don’t be so hard on yourself, I expected nothing.

‘I’m hurting myself’. Not enough.

‘I am sick of you…I am done with you’. Likewise.

Please stop making music.

Technorati Profile

Overheard on the tube. Part 1.

Woman 1- 'Thing is, I've pretty much forgotten about the bombs and that.'

Woman 2- 'Yeah, me too, what's happened with all that?'

Woman 1- 'I think they were probably scared off.'

Woman 2- 'I couldn't do that me, blow myself up...'

Woman 1- 'Yeah, you're not a Muslim though are you?'

Woman 2- 'No, but even if I was...'

Woman 1- 'Yeah, but you're not, are you?'

Woman 2- 'No, suppose not.'

Courage and Cowardice

Courage is easier to accept

than cowardice.

I'm the post- apocalyptic beast of sin

and the most pathetic of children.

Catch me on the tube

and you better get out of my way.

Punch me in the face

and I'll get out of yours.

Barks, bites, empty threats,

I talk a good game.

I'm just going to sit here and hope

my anger is taken the wrong way.

Bluffs, lies, frauds, forgeries.

Honestly.

You thought I was capable of WHAT?

'Not me, mate. Honest.'

Is this even a contradiction

when it's so clear to those

who have any clue

that 'I'm not worth it'?

'Sorry, mate. Sorry, mate.

Honestly. Didn't mean anything.

Don't want no trouble.'

I've enough of that, thanks.

Written on the train

So the endless journey continued

past landscapes and council estates.

burned fields and motorbikes.

I laid down my head

and slept forever.

I missed the willow tree and the theme parks

as I dreamt of victory and curvaceous women

who would never know my name

and never care to ask.

I could transform my dreams

with a change of scenery,

reactivate my motivation

by withdrawing an active chemical.

I could forget my now in-built urges

and do the right thing.

If only I'd allow myself to.

Potential means shit without the graft

and vigour.

I was born an inch from a landmine

(little did I know).

A leg either side,

one step from disaster.

But don't send in the troops just yet.

With one shoe dangling.

I was walking slowly,

changing my soundtrack

and he stood on my shoe.

So I turned around,

a reflex reaction.

'Walk on mate.

Walk on.'

So I did.

With one shoe dangling

from my foot.

He walked past me

and told me to cheer up.

So I did.

With one shoe dangling

from my foot.

So I got to thinking,

what if I hadn't walked on?

And had just stood there

forever.

I'd get nudged,

knocked about

and trampled on.

Forever.

I think he had a point.

I walked on.

nyclondon.com

nyclondon.com

These amazing photos are from nyclondon.com , a blog I've just started reading.

Carlo Giuliani and Pacifism

So, many of you may already know about the death of Carlo Giuliani, but as I'm relatively new to his story, I thought I'd share it with those who aren't aware.

I first found out about Carlo Giuliani on a holiday in Venice with my girlfriend earlier in the year. We saw this piece of graf and read up about it when we got home.



The facts (from Wikipedia):

"Giuliani was killed on July 20 (2001), during a violent clash between protestors and Italian Carabinieri. A Carabinieri vehicle became stuck and some protesters (wielding metal poles and wooden boards) attempted either to break the windows, to force their way inside, or to injure the occupants. In the midst of this clash, Carlo Giuliani, who was wearing a black ski mask, picked up a fire extinguisher and, apparently intending to throw it at the officers inside the police jeep, was shot in the face by one of the officers. Giuliani fell to the ground as the driver reversed the vehicle, driving over Giuliani's body.

All charges against the police officer who allegedly shot him, (Mario Placanica), were dropped, the commission of inquiry concluding that the fatal bullet that struck Giuliani was deflected by a stone in mid-air. This conclusion was the subject of strong criticism, as was the decision not to charge the driver of the jeep on the basis that Giulani was already dead when run over; medics tending to Giulani after he was run over testified that his heart was still beating. Had it been concluded that Placanica shot Giuliani in self-defence, a trial would have been necessary, but the conclusion that the bullet was not fired directly at Giuliani removed the need for any trial.

A number of questions about Giuliani's death remain unanswered, particularly after Placanica told the media in 2003 that "I've been used to cover up the responsibility of others." After making this statement, Placanica was involved in a "suspicious" car accident, days after allegedly observing someone tampering with his car. Placanica was also allegedly kept in seclusion following the incident, and his parents were not allowed to visit him in the hospital."

I don't even need to highlight the blatant miscarriage of justice here. It's not like it's anything new, or a surprise to anyone, but it's sick and wrong all the same.

Carlo was a man who died for his beliefs. It's all very well me sitting in my nice two bedroom flat in London, being very opinionated, going on the occasional protest march and arguing my points to all who'll listen. But here was a man who put his life on the line for what he thought was right. He refused to let fear and insurmountable odds deter him. For that alone, he will never be forgotten.

Photos from the events on July 20, 2001.

Reading up about this makes me think about pacifism. Had Carlo not raised that fire extinguisher above his head, he may have been alive today, but, the protests would have had far less media attention and the things Carlo believed in would not have been highlighted. What do you do when faced with riot police who are trying to stop you from making your point? Do you cower and watch as you're hit with the fists and batons of the establishment you are fighting against? Or do you do all you can to counter it?

Would a true pacifist deny the right of defence to the Palestinian people, for example? If so, do they suggest they lay down and allow themselves to be trampled on, have their land stolen and their homes and basic human rights destroyed? It's not as if political negotiations have got them what they deserve and there's precious little one can say that will stop an Israeli bulldozer at your front door.

Would a pacifist suggest that the allied forces in WWII lay down their arms and let the Nazis take over Europe?

If so, I'm no pacifist.

Tim Barry (the singer from Avail) said it very simply, but very well in 'Avoiding Catatonic Currender':

'I think pacifists are weak
and violence is wrong'

A quote from JFK;

'Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable'

Please note, this was written on a whim in about 10 minutes. I intend to sit down and spend some time writing something more serious about pacifism. I'll post it up here when I have.

Unsupported Opinions

Hello person,

Many thanks for taking the time to read my Unsupported Opinions.

I'm going to to write about my views on a range of subjects. I won't try and back up my opinions, I'll leave that to anyone who cares enough about clarity.

Expect to see titles like 'Left Wing? South American? Not a fan of Capitalism? Terrible human rights record? OK, we'll ignore that last one, you sound great!', 'Being polite and having manners- My struggle on the tube' and 'Forgetting politeness and ignoring manners- a converted tube customer'.

Please encourage me to write/ give me something to write about. I need all the motivation I can get.

Thanks again,

Tom