Tacky Self Promotion

Two new posts are up at my Anne Begg blog. This one is about Anne's recent appearances in parliament, and this one is about the threatened closure of the Aberdeen Met Office.

The Lunatics are off the grass

Those who read this post will know that I have no great affection for Stephen Green, the director of Christian Voice. Anyone who hasn't heard of Christian Voice might think this unfair. In order to provide an illustration as to just how fundamentalist and extreme they are, Christian Voice have been asked to take their money elsewhere. Now that is good news. Mediawatchwatch has more.

Just one more excellent reason to bank at the Co-operative Bank. I fully intend to open an account as soon as I get some money to put in it.

Update: bookdrunk has more, including a press statement from the Co-op and a handy email address.
Update 2: Chicken Yoghurt in splendid form as usual.

Good Violence

The perfect way to deal with an irritating amphibian (via).
Warning: NSFW (unless your boss doesn't mind a bit of swearing and cartoon violence).

One Step Closer To Power

My MSP has just been promoted. Good Work Guy! There's a splendid combination of vague idealism and management doublespeak in Nicol's acceptance speak. Still, it is his first day so I'm not complaining or anything. Give the man a chance and all that.

I hope Anne's new website doesn't take too much longer to go online. When that happens I'm hoping to stop doing this, and instead, find out the new Deputy First Ministers views on MSP blogging.

Scottish Blogs (and lot of them)

I never got round to mentioning the Scottish Political Blogs Review. It has an excellent directory of Scottish political blogs. Very Comprehensive. Credit to Stuart at Independence for putting in together.

There was some talk of other activities occurring on the site. If Stuart is still looking for volunteers, my services are always available*. I'll leave him a message, see if there's anything happening.

*Well, not actually always, that'd be silly, but "my services are sometimes available" doesn't have the same pizaz.

No Decision

Here's a quick update to this earlier post on the possible use of the Terrorism Act during policing of the G8 summit. I've received a reply from Tayside Police G8 media unit and their position remains unchanged. The essential point:

If circumstances merit an application to the Home Secretary then this will be considered.

The Sunday Times and the Press and Journal don't seem so sure. Bertie suggests here that the two stories originate from the same briefing. I suppose that still poses the question of who gave the briefing. It doesn't seem likely to have been Tayside Police who apparently haven't decided yet. A Downing Street softening up exercise before the official decision is announced seems the most likely explanation to my mind. Of course, this is purely an operational and not a political decision...

PS, Bertie writes an interesting blog about Ilkley.
(There's a tiny bit of G-juice to help with the temporary search ranking slide.)

Snap!

This is the twist in the tail I mentioned in the previous post. I think it's marginally amusing, and it's an interesting illustration of how the media works (or perhaps doesn't work).

To recap, I had read an article in the Press and Journal (13th June) but it wasn't available online. A search turned up this article in the Sunday Times, written by Jason Allardyce and Mark Macaskill and published on the 12th June. I'd just finished re-reading the P&J article and immediately started on the ST one. The twist is that they were the same article. To be clear, I don't mean that both newspapers covered the same story, that would be dangerously close to a pot-kettle-blackness interface. I mean they are almost exactly the same. Having read through them both one after the other, I can safely say that at least 80% of the contents of both articles are made up of exactly the same words in exactly the same order. Someone's made a very half hearted effort to rearrange some of the wording but they are all just superficial changes like these:
Sunday Times, paragraph 3

Section 44 of the legislation will allow police to stop and search anyone they consider may pose a threat to security, while section 43 will enable them to hold suspects without charge in purpose-built cells in Glasgow for up to seven days.

Press and Journal, paragraph 3 (not online, strangely, but I do have a copy of the newpaper so that's ok.)

Section 44 of the act enables the police to stop and search anyone they consider may pose a threat to security while Section 43 gives them the right to hold suspects, urcharged, in Glasgow cells built for the occassion for up to seven days.

And so it goes on, for all 15 paragraphs of both articles. Word for, very nearly always the same word. There's no mention of a writer in the P&J article but it is on the front page of the paper. Nowhere does it say "This article has previously appeared in yesterday's Sunday Times".

Now it might be that Allardyce and Macaskill are freelance and sell articles to as many newspapers as possible. I don't know enough about how the newspaper industry works to say how likely this is. It did occur to me that the P&J might be some sort of subsidiary of News International, but this turns out not to be the case. In fact, as I think I already knew but kept trying to forget, the P&J is owned by the Northcliffe Newspaper Group, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Daily Mail group. Well, you can see why I try not to think about it too much.

So what we are left with is an article which appeared in a News International newspaper on Sunday and appeared in a Daily Mail group newpaper on Monday. Do these bitter rivals share articles like this often? I've no way to tell. It's interesting though.

It's worth highlighting the performance of the Evening Telegraph here. Their report informed its readers of the official position of Tayside Police, and took the time to consider the implications:

The Scottish Human Rights Centre has voiced its concerns over the Section 44 powers claiming their use would be “extremely controversial”. Chairman John Scott said, “It would represent an easy way for the police to deal with some people they suspect of being troublemakers and keep them out of circulation for the duration of the G8.”

Excellent regional reporting there from the Evening Telegraph. (The Evening Telegraph is owned by DC Thomsons). It's certainly a lot better than an almost exact replica of a national newspaper story from the previous day.

Ah well, there goes any possiblity of an exciting new career in regional newpaper publishing. I suppose I could move to Dundee, maybe get a job at the Beano, that'd be cool...

Update: I forgot to mention the conspiracy theory. It is possible to imagine a situation where both newspapers have actually just printed two versions of the same private press briefing from Downing Street, no question asked. Just a thought.

A Tangled Web

There was a story on the front page of the Press and Journal on Monday last week which I've been meaning to blog for a while. It wasn't online but I kept the paper aside and intended to provide a scan. I haven't got round to that yet (but more on that later). The Sunday Times seems to have led the way on this story with this article from 12th June. The article is a statement of fact:

Police to use new terror powers at G8
POLICE are to use special anti-terror powers that will allow them to jail protesters at the G8 summit for up to a week without charge.
Tayside Constabulary is expected to become the first force in Scotland to be granted the powers under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Do you hear the sound of another little bit of our freedom leaving the country? If true, this is another sad day for democracy. What are our elected representatives saying about this state of affairs?
Here's an exchange from PMQs, 9th March:

Howard: At the weekend, the Prime Minister said that its provisions could be used against protesters against the G8 meeting in Scotland. Did he mean that?

Blair: I have read that I am supposed to have said that, but I confess that I have absolutely no recollection of saying it. There are people who want to protest against the G8 meeting—incidentally, protests happen on a very wide range of issues, and I obviously see many of them on my travels around the place—but the control orders are specifically designed to defeat terrorism. For people who want to come and protest in this country, there is a long-standing democratic right and they are perfectly entitled to do so.
theyworkforyou

It goes on in that vain for a while but it's a straight answer free zone. It's not really possible to determine whether Blair intends for these provisions to be used. Has the Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, had anything to say on the matter? Yes, on 15th May:

Policing and security arrangements for the forthcoming G8 Summit are a devolved responsibility for the Scottish Executive and Scottish police forces. Scottish Executive and Tayside Police have confirmed that US military personnel will play no role in the security operation.
theyworkforyou

Nice swerve. Imagine this though; Bush phones Blair to ask about the security arrangements, and Blair says "don't worry George, I've got Jack McConnell on the case." "Who in the hell's that Tony?" "You know, Jack McConnell. Don't worry, I have every confidence in his abilities." (Photo via Independence.) Er, right, it might have happened that way. I've no evidence to say it didn't.

Other than that, there's not much to be found on the subject. Des Brown provides an excellent demonstration of the ethos of open government, Jeff Hoon adopts the swerve approach, and that about it. The Scottish Parliament may have debated the matter but their website is so poorly organised I doubt even proper journalists bother with it. As luck would have it, Tayside Police have their own G8 website which is quite useful. There's a statement of their position regarding the Terrorism Act.

The provisions of Section 44 have been used on a number of occasions around high profile events in London and further afield. We are examining how they work and how they might apply to the G8 Summit in Scotland. If the circumstances merit an application to the Home Secretary then this will be considered. It should be stressed that the provisions of Section 44 are there to allow the police to take a proportionate approach when judged necessary to assist in the prevention of acts of terrorism.
Statement, 03/06/05

This statement was made before the Sunday Times article (12th June) and it appears that this is still the position of Tayside Police. In fact, the Evening Telegraph and Post, a locally owned Dundee newspaper, seem to have confirmed this with Tayside Police the day after the Sunday Times article. They report using a more considered headline on the 13th: Police consider terror powers bid

So, where the did Sunday Times source the information that "Police are to use special anti-terror powers"? The police in question don't appear to have decided yet. Reading the Sunday Times article again, there is no mention of who provided the information for their claim. It implies that the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland supports their story but it's no more than implication. The official position is still undecided as far as I can ascertain. I thought it best to fire off an quick email message to the Tayside Police G8 media relations unit:

Would it be possible to clarify the position of Tayside Police with regard to the use of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 during policing of the G8 summit at the Gleneagles Hotel? Has a decision been reached as to whether Tayside Police will be making the necessary application to the Home Secretary?

Brief and to the point. It's already dangerously close to journalism as it is (for this blog anyway). I'm hoping this will clear up the confusion over this issue. We shall see.

It is, in some sense, unfair to focus on Tayside police though. There is no doubt that this is a political rather than an operational decision. In fact, the Sunday Times article, perhaps inadvertantly, highlights the ridiculous nature of the claim that there may be operation reasons for using the powers of the Act:

If they are found to possess a suspect device or weapon, they will be detained.

Hmm, so we don't already have laws we can use to arrest people carrying suspect devices or weapons? That's clearly a nonsense argument. Whether the Act is used is a matter of politics and public relations. It's almost certainly a decision for Downing Street. It's tempting to suggest that the Sunday Times article is a softening up exercise, testing the waters before the official announcement is made. Downing Street does love to work with Murdochs' evil empire after all.

One thing can be said without a doubt. The article is a classic example of how the sections of the press make unjustified connections between protestors and terrorists. The first two lines, quoted above, are a perfect illustration: we get "Anti-terror powers - jail - protestors - Terrorism". Nice.

This post is already rather long, but there is a marginally amusing twist in the tail. It's the "more on that later" I mentioned in the first paragraph. I'll post that later on today.

Just Say No

There's a new flashy banner to promote the NO2ID pledge. There are already an impressive number of signatories but more are needed.

The government is already eroding our civil liberties in far reaching and unjustified ways. It's time to speak up.

Update: Read this Talk Politics post for a better understanding the potential dangers of the National Identity Database.

Shallow Waters

Punctuation
I'm not great when it comes to grammer and punctuation. I try to make the effort but there are often times when I just don't know whether a comma should be added (like here), or where to put the dreaded apostrophe. BBC2 showed an interesting programme on the subject last night. Although I knew that some people feel strongly about these rules, I hadn't realised quite how strongly. The chap who added an apostrophe to a sign opposite his office with tipex was an excellent example. The BBC magazine is asking for readers (or is that readers') comments. I'm not going to leave one myself for obvious reasons. The BBC also provide a link to a punctuation quiz. I got 25% which makes me a stickler apparently.

Invention
Scots have always been a dab hand at inventing things, so this chap is continuing in a great Scottish tradition. Pretty inspiring stuff for a 12 year old, I reckon.

Inebriation
BBC News 24 were reporting on a survey of UK champagne sales earlier today. Do you know which city in the UK buys the most bubbly? Take a guess. No, you're wrong, I'll have to tell you. It's Birmingham.
Even more surprising is the news that the highest concentration of connoisseurs is in Essex. Remarkable.
There is one result from the survey which isn't surprising. Do you know which UK city's (?) residents buys the least champagne? It's the residents of Aberdeen, the tight fisted misers. Still, I suppose we can't be accussed of being champagne socialists.

Nice MP Blogging

I've posted some more information on my MP, Anne Begg. The post is On Balance, and it's all good positive stuff. This doesn't mean I've been knobbled. It does mean there has been a reappraisal of the blogs attitude to impartial and objective reporting. In short, it's going to try some.

Accidental Truth

Bloggerheads highlights President Bush's Radio Address from the 18th June, in which he's still propogating a huge whopper.

"We went to war because we were attacked, and we are at war today because there are still people out there who want to harm our country and hurt our citizens. Some may disagree with my decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power..."

A textbook example of the President evoking the horrors of the World Trade Center attacks and suggesting a link to the war in Iraq, a link which clearly isn't justified.
There was one extraordinary admission from Bush:

"Our troops are fighting these terrorists in Iraq so you will not have to face them here at home".

I think that's the most truthful explanation of the current situation in Iraq I've ever heard from the President. The policies of the Bush administration have turned Iraq into a magnet for Islamic and anti-American extremists. It doesn't matter to the US government that they've created more extremists through their actions in Iraq. What's important is that the extremists are mostly killing Iraqi and not US citizens.

9.5 on the Ostrich Scale

A third slice of half baked philosophy pie

It’s another attempt to delve into the wonderful world of the human being. The standard naivety warning applies.

The first point is that the Ostrich Scale is pure self indulgent crap, and it’s only because I have a comfortable life that I can spend an evening writing a post about it. My life isn’t a physical struggle. I always have enough food, water, and shelter. I live in a country where the rule of law provides me with an extraordinary level of security. In fact, for all our worries about anti-social behaviour, the people of this island are as safe as they have ever been. The average life expectancy of a UK citizen is far higher than the world average. I’m comfortable. How many people in the whole of human history have been able to say those words? Those of us who have it tend to take it for granted (myself most certainly included) but it is a highly unusual state of human existence, both historically and geographically. I didn’t do anything to deserve this unusual level of privilege, I was just lucky to be born when and where I was. I’m comfortable.

It is only because I’m comfortable I can take the time to consider the Ostrich Scale at all. In essence, it’s a measure of how much we allow the discomfort of others to intrude into our own comfortable existence. At some level, everyone knows that there are people enduring indescribable suffering somewhere in the world at this very moment. It is an uncomfortable thought. It isn’t easy to write as I sit in front of the pc, having just enjoyed a warm pleasant day in which a farcical F1 race was my biggest concern. I don’t think anyone will deny the fact that it is true, it’s just that we prefer not to think about it too much. Some will say its best just to accept it’s always been this way and do their best not to think about all this unpleasantness any more. These people score highly on the Ostrich Scale.

On the other hand, everyone also knows that it’s not impossible to be comfortable. We’ve managed it here in the UK, so it’s clearly possible, and the UK wasn’t always this way. Go back 200 years and see how comfortable most of the citizens of the UK were. For example, I'm glad I wasn't around for this. There is no doubt that in the UK in the year 2005, we are in a privileged and unusual position. We are able to control the amount of unpleasantness we let into our thoughts. There are those who choose to face the discomfort and to fight for change with every waking moment. These people score 0 on the Ostrich Scale, are vary rare, and are to be applauded at every opportunity. It is people just like them who helped give us the comfortable lifestyle we now take for granted.

Most of us find it difficult to face many of these uncomfortable truths and spend a great deal of time ignoring them. So, when I read earlier this week that the US had admitted to using Napalm type weapons in Iraq, I was sickened but I didn’t dwell on the issue for too long. It’s horrible to think of someone burning to death in this particularly ghastly way. The fact that our ally has used these bombs is appalling, repellent even. I’ve seen photos of people who have burned to death in Iraq. They are very difficult to view. I’m not going to link to them but they are out there if you want to find out what war really looks like.

The mainstream media, including the BBC, will not show you what war really looks like either. They understand the Ostrich Scale and they won’t broadcast the truly ugly side of war. It’s worth remembering that every shocking image you see in the media has already been selected as suitably sanitary for our comfortable lives. The viewers and readers don’t want to be made uncomfortable with images of burned alive corpses. In fact, it makes perfect sense. If the TV News broadcasts actually reported openly about the effects of Napalm, or the result of every suicide bombing, many people would just stop watching. I would probably stop watching. It is just so very difficult to deal with such horrors. By the same token, I find it difficult to deal with the fact that there are huge numbers of people dying of preventable diseases in Africa. I know it is happening but I tend not to think about it very often. It is a choice, and not one open to an Iraqi under a bomb, or someone dying due to diarrhoea.

But, by avoiding these issues I become complicit in their continuation. Our government takes our silence as approval of their behaviour. The government takes a million people marching against the Iraq war as temporary turbulence, soon calmed. The fact that our government shows such reluctance to listen discourages many from speaking out. It should be having the opposite effect. If the government says it cannot hear, the important thing is to speak louder and more clearly. To make it incontrovertibly known that we are opposed to an alliance in which our ally is intentionally burning people to death. To make it absolutely clear that we oppose the current economic framework in which the rich get richer and the poor live (and die) off the scraps from our table. These things are happening but they can be stopped. It just needs enough of us to put down our hamburgers, unplug our TV’s, and pull our heads out of the sand.

A Fast Farce

Formula 1 is one of my guilty pleasures. I know I shouldn't watch but I just can't help enjoying it. I'm sort of watching the US Grand Prix and it seems that F1 seems intent on removing the pleasure from the whole experience. It's a 6 car race. What on earth are they playing at?

I've never seen anything quite so ridiculous. F1 has just self destructed in the US. The fans at the circuit are demanding a refund. Quite right too.

It's so dull I've just looked up the link for a Doctor Who wallpaper I applied the other day. It the TARDIS landing in Cardiff. Nice.

Stay In Your Home

Today's headline on the front page of the Independent on Sunday:
Leak of secret plan to protect G8 leaders sparks security alert

It seems that an unnamed member of the intelligence community has leaked these plans to the Independent in order to create a "wake-up call" for complacent ministers.

The information includes: details of the threat, including assessments of the risk from chemical, biological, and radiological attack... the precise location of lines of reinforced fencing to keep out would-be suicide bombers and protesters; and aerial photographs of the estate marking likely terrorist targets.

Good grief, it's going to be a madhouse down there. This leak must be very embarrasing for the government. Hmm...

There is another possibility. The Independent might have become an unwitting participant in the government's Stay In Your Home campaign.
An unnamed member of the intelligence community? A tenuous connection between suicide bombers and protestors? A leak likely to deter legitimate and peaceful protestors from attending demonstrations? A leak likely to provide an excuse for the government to introduce greater restrictions on those who do wish to protest peacefully?

Of course, I'm just speculating and I am a self confessed cynical bas***d. It'll be interesting to see how the government responds to this leak though.

A Weather Report.

It's been really warm today in Aberdeen. This is so unusual I thought it worth mentioning. In fact, it's so unusual I felt compelled to spend most of the day outside. In short, I haven't got anything to post today. I may, however, have a slight suntan.

I did watch Doctor Who. Excellent stuff, already looking forward to the new series. It's just too warm to expand on that at the moment. One thing I did notice though, ITV1 showed Beverly Hills Cop when Doctor Who was on. OK, I'm sure they've dubbed the bad language but, I mean, well... Beverly Hills Cop at 6.30pm on a Saturday? Is that really a good idea?

Edit: Due to a too/to ado. I've sorted it now.

Utterly Useless Devices: No. 1

What can I possibly say about these politicians. Aren't they supposed to be setting an example for the rest of us? (via taffia don.)
The report says:

Divisional Crime Prevention Officer Pc Simon James said that while the results could not be used as evidence, they can indicate to officers that a person should be searched or questioned.

I wonder if either of the AMs were searched or questioned? I suspect not.
What a spectacularly, outrageously, preposterously, pointless and useless machine.

BTW, I've added 3 new links to my blogroll: Bill, Akatsuki, and taffia don I already mentioned. (I'd like to say that this will lead to an increase in traffic but I'm afraid it's unlikely.) As ususal, I've probably forgotten to link to someone I meant too. I'll no doubt remember at 4.30am.
Right, the next post I post will be the post I mentioned I would post in the previous post (once I write it).

Edit: Duff link, now repaired.

Blugger

I seem to be having some trouble getting blogger to accept posts with links this afternoon. I wonder if it'll post these words. I have written something but I've tried posting it any number of times. I'll try again later.

I was also going to write a sort of round up of where I'm at with various things. I'm still waiting for replies to my letters concerning fair voting reforms for example. I'll either do that later on today, or perhaps tomorrow. I'm off to get the latest news about the EU. They're bound to have sorted it out by now*.

*This may not be my actual opinion.

Britain, Britain, Britain!

Would you qualify for British citizenship? Take the test and find out (via doctorvee). I'd like to tell you how I did but modesty intervenes.

Anne's Big Day

I've just finished my post on Anne Begg asking a question at PMQs yesterday. I think it's worth checking out (well, I would), especially if you're from around these parts.

I'm probably going to take a break from any more blogging for today. Have a nice evening.