First the disclaimer, I am no fan of Garry Glitter. He has never appealed to me as either a man nor as a musician. I always found him more than a little strange to watch during his very successful singing career.
Glitter has just been released from his imprisonment after serving his prison term in Vietnam. He is a man who is unwanted virtually everywhere.
The Vietnamese prison sentence followed a very similar incarceration for an almost identical conviction in Thailand. After his expulsion from Vietnam 19 countries are understood to have signaled that he is an undesirable to all of them and none of them will allow him in.
If he comes back to Britain he will have to register on the sex offenders list and be closely monitored for an extended period.
Glitter's sentence called for him to be deported on his release, and if he is returned to Vietnam, he will almost certainly be put back on a flight to London.
But Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, is fighting to remain overseas. "I'm not going back to London," he said on his arrival in Thailand. "You can't make me. I've done my time. I'm a free man."
The Thai government refused to force Glitter back on the plane, and the British police officer traveling with him admitted he had no authority to compel him to board the aircraft.
The British consulate in Ho Chi Minh City issued Glitter’s passport. His rights are the same as any British citizen, which means he is allowed to travel to any country that does not require a visa. But now that he’s been denied entry to Singapore and Hong Kong, his future is uncertain.
There are no outstanding charges against Glitter in the UK but the British Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith said Glitter should not be allowed to leave the country if he did return to these shores.
"We need to control him, and he will be controlled once he returns to this country," Smith said.
His crimes are all linked to Glitter being a pedophile. Despite our very natural detestation of this sad man and his dreadful crimes, are we not making ourselves into a baying mob if we give in to our natural but reprehensible instincts to keep punishing a man who has already served his sentence?
Yes, Glitter is an evil bastard who has to be closely watched wherever he turns up. But isn’t this beginning to look more like the witch hunt of a sick man than a lesson in justice?
You feel as though there’s a ducking stool poised ready or a rack being polished for Glitter. Surely the days of our burning people at the stake should be over or have we learned nothing at all?
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
SeismicShifts
Every so often, randomly arriving at our door through fate, not design, comes a seismic shift in our collective destiny. We are, in my view, living through the beginning of such a shift.
Not since the general collapse of the Communist world and ethos have such large cracks appeared in the global fault lines. This can, as in the case of Communisms demise, lead to a positive conclusion, but getting there can be fraught with danger.
The signals of the impending changes are gathering pace. These involve varying numbers of us presently, in certain locations, but the repercussions are bound to ripple out across the world. Such are the benefits and curses of living in a global economy. We get to share the pain as well as the pleasure.
For nearly one hundred years we have been used to a world where America has always been able to dominate economically and, to some extent, militarily. The end of the Soviet Union marked the high water mark. The American economy looked monolithic and invincible, as did its military and its culture. After a decade and a half fighting asymmetrically against terrorism in all its forms the military looks like its incorrectly configured. The economy is finding it hard to adjust to a world where its hegemony over finance is challenged from London and domination over manufacturing by the Chinese. Self sufficiency of raw materials, especially oil and gas is becoming an ever more distant memory and now Canada is the big winner in the supply of fuel to the USA.
Add to these negatives for America the near collapse of its mortgage business and banks, and the signs become yet more ominous. Yesterday it was predicted that a major American bank will shortly collapse, and should they survive a major Investment bank will fold. These things are beginning to happen and are not me being a doomsayer. Perhaps, the truth is, there are simply too many banks chasing too few deals and too little money and there needed to be slimming down of the banking fraternity. This may have all been triggered by the sub prime market collapse but has now grown far wider and deeper.
But this is a global crisis, not an American one. In China there are a record number of business bankruptcies reported. The central authorities have decreed their own, internal credit crunch and it has driven the non -governmental supported businesses to the financial wall. This has resulted in many thousands of these small to medium sized businesses seeking unofficial loans from financial sharks circling in search of easy prey. The Chinese official figures reckon the size of these types of loans already exceeds $14 billion. Many of these loans are already defaulting and this is leading to business and commercial tragedy on an increasingly gargantuan scale. The authorities, not normally known for their swift market reactions has seen the big dangers lurking ahead and did release more funding quite quickly, but it remains to be seen whether this will save their situation.
This problem is exacerbated by China’s recent incredible expansion being almost totally fuelled by Western consumerism. With our moving toward recession this demand has almost evaporated. The Chinese manufacturers servicing their burgeoning internal market can temporarily disguise this, but this has clear limitations. The world’s woes are about to be shared by China.
Add to this set of problems the very real issues regarding Russia’s new imperialism, the ongoing issues in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and the Middle East and there are very rocky roads ahead.
These are the times when we need political giants to lead us and we only have Obama or McCain plus Brown, Sarkozy and Merkel. The line up facing them is led, in real terms by Vladimir Putin, and he is sharper, more focused and clearly has a plan in mind. He’s playing chess while we’re getting out our checkers board.
The methods Putin used to gain control over all aspects of the gas and oil industries demonstrated his total ruthless efficiency and a complete lack of morals and business ethics. The risk to our investments in Russia became clear when Putin’s minions behaved appallingly in their seeking to bully BP to give control to Russia of their half of their jointly owned and controlled company. When foreign capital was pouring into Russia they were happy to accept it, now that these enterprises have become profitable they want to take them. I am not an apologist for our big businesses, but if clear agreements are going to be breached the world economy falls under real threat.
However, we should seek a common denominator because we’re going to have to find a way to adjust and live together. Putin is as concerned as we are about Islamic fundamentalism and this is the area we should be working on, together. We should find ways to make Putin and Russia work with us on a common agenda that is centered on this common, major problem.
While we search for common methods to combat these common problems we also need to tighten up our EU ownership laws to disallow Russian ownership of our strategic assets. It is commercial insanity for us to entertain the idea of Russia owning sections of our power industry. Such negotiations took place over the last month and must be stopped.
Similar, financial self-defense measures need to be implemented against any ownership by any country that is at any risk of becoming our future enemy.
Not since the general collapse of the Communist world and ethos have such large cracks appeared in the global fault lines. This can, as in the case of Communisms demise, lead to a positive conclusion, but getting there can be fraught with danger.
The signals of the impending changes are gathering pace. These involve varying numbers of us presently, in certain locations, but the repercussions are bound to ripple out across the world. Such are the benefits and curses of living in a global economy. We get to share the pain as well as the pleasure.
For nearly one hundred years we have been used to a world where America has always been able to dominate economically and, to some extent, militarily. The end of the Soviet Union marked the high water mark. The American economy looked monolithic and invincible, as did its military and its culture. After a decade and a half fighting asymmetrically against terrorism in all its forms the military looks like its incorrectly configured. The economy is finding it hard to adjust to a world where its hegemony over finance is challenged from London and domination over manufacturing by the Chinese. Self sufficiency of raw materials, especially oil and gas is becoming an ever more distant memory and now Canada is the big winner in the supply of fuel to the USA.
Add to these negatives for America the near collapse of its mortgage business and banks, and the signs become yet more ominous. Yesterday it was predicted that a major American bank will shortly collapse, and should they survive a major Investment bank will fold. These things are beginning to happen and are not me being a doomsayer. Perhaps, the truth is, there are simply too many banks chasing too few deals and too little money and there needed to be slimming down of the banking fraternity. This may have all been triggered by the sub prime market collapse but has now grown far wider and deeper.
But this is a global crisis, not an American one. In China there are a record number of business bankruptcies reported. The central authorities have decreed their own, internal credit crunch and it has driven the non -governmental supported businesses to the financial wall. This has resulted in many thousands of these small to medium sized businesses seeking unofficial loans from financial sharks circling in search of easy prey. The Chinese official figures reckon the size of these types of loans already exceeds $14 billion. Many of these loans are already defaulting and this is leading to business and commercial tragedy on an increasingly gargantuan scale. The authorities, not normally known for their swift market reactions has seen the big dangers lurking ahead and did release more funding quite quickly, but it remains to be seen whether this will save their situation.
This problem is exacerbated by China’s recent incredible expansion being almost totally fuelled by Western consumerism. With our moving toward recession this demand has almost evaporated. The Chinese manufacturers servicing their burgeoning internal market can temporarily disguise this, but this has clear limitations. The world’s woes are about to be shared by China.
Add to this set of problems the very real issues regarding Russia’s new imperialism, the ongoing issues in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and the Middle East and there are very rocky roads ahead.
These are the times when we need political giants to lead us and we only have Obama or McCain plus Brown, Sarkozy and Merkel. The line up facing them is led, in real terms by Vladimir Putin, and he is sharper, more focused and clearly has a plan in mind. He’s playing chess while we’re getting out our checkers board.
The methods Putin used to gain control over all aspects of the gas and oil industries demonstrated his total ruthless efficiency and a complete lack of morals and business ethics. The risk to our investments in Russia became clear when Putin’s minions behaved appallingly in their seeking to bully BP to give control to Russia of their half of their jointly owned and controlled company. When foreign capital was pouring into Russia they were happy to accept it, now that these enterprises have become profitable they want to take them. I am not an apologist for our big businesses, but if clear agreements are going to be breached the world economy falls under real threat.
However, we should seek a common denominator because we’re going to have to find a way to adjust and live together. Putin is as concerned as we are about Islamic fundamentalism and this is the area we should be working on, together. We should find ways to make Putin and Russia work with us on a common agenda that is centered on this common, major problem.
While we search for common methods to combat these common problems we also need to tighten up our EU ownership laws to disallow Russian ownership of our strategic assets. It is commercial insanity for us to entertain the idea of Russia owning sections of our power industry. Such negotiations took place over the last month and must be stopped.
Similar, financial self-defense measures need to be implemented against any ownership by any country that is at any risk of becoming our future enemy.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
RelativelyStrangers
Tomorrow I might just pop a few words down for my blog or I might not. I have to visit the medics for a little something at an unearthly hour and that will mean probable hours spent in rush hour traffic in both directions.
There’s nothing much wrong with me, I think and hope, but you can’t help but think of the dance eternal when you get within a few miles proximity of a hospital.
My mood was not enhanced with a phone call I received a day or two back. I come from a big, noisy and very lively continental type family. A cousin rang me to tell me that my late mother’s first cousin had died. The lady, who I hardly knew, was in her mid 90’s, but in our tradition, when you get the phone call in the morning, about such a relation being buried that afternoon, you attend!
I have to say that the eerie quotient was magnified by the fact that at the precise moment I received the phone call about the funeral, I was doing my final draft of a radio play I’m writing, set partly in a funeral.
I attended the funeral and found myself surrounded by a great many people I didn’t know, and just a few who are related but are, shall we say, relatively strangers.
It was years since I had seen this, now somewhat distant part of our family. There was a time when we were less sophisticated and much poorer when we got together in huge regular gatherings of the entire clan. That was when my grandmother and her several sisters and a brother were still all with us, and ruled the clan with charm, a smile and a will of iron. Now we barely recognize each other. My more distant cousins have clearly prospered, and keep company with similarly well-healed friends. There were more Bentleys in the car park than are found at a premier league football club’s training ground.
My closest male cousin, Ivor, stood next to me in the prayer hall; we tend to do this at these family events. As ever we find ourselves making jokes to relieve the seriousness of the moment. We’ve been doing the same thing since we were small boys; I suppose it gives us comfort, these little moments of humor. We might be getting a little older, but when we’re together we’re still those small boys who played together at our mutual grandmother’s home.
Ivor is starting a formal genealogy of our family and has a computer programme to assist with the task. When we discussed how difficult it was just to work out our connection to all the people attending the funeral we realized how hard it would be to chart our family. But it will be great to see the result. You understand your present, and can shape your future if you know your past.
The funeral itself was, as ever, a sad and emotional outpouring of shared grief. I looked at the immediate family of the deceased, and when their veneer of smart sophistication crumpled under the strain of the moment they suddenly looked very much like my late grandmother.
I do feel a bit guilty, but as soon as it was over I returned home to make some revisions to my radio script. I can’t help it, I’m a writer, and I’m confident that my family would understand.
There’s nothing much wrong with me, I think and hope, but you can’t help but think of the dance eternal when you get within a few miles proximity of a hospital.
My mood was not enhanced with a phone call I received a day or two back. I come from a big, noisy and very lively continental type family. A cousin rang me to tell me that my late mother’s first cousin had died. The lady, who I hardly knew, was in her mid 90’s, but in our tradition, when you get the phone call in the morning, about such a relation being buried that afternoon, you attend!
I have to say that the eerie quotient was magnified by the fact that at the precise moment I received the phone call about the funeral, I was doing my final draft of a radio play I’m writing, set partly in a funeral.
I attended the funeral and found myself surrounded by a great many people I didn’t know, and just a few who are related but are, shall we say, relatively strangers.
It was years since I had seen this, now somewhat distant part of our family. There was a time when we were less sophisticated and much poorer when we got together in huge regular gatherings of the entire clan. That was when my grandmother and her several sisters and a brother were still all with us, and ruled the clan with charm, a smile and a will of iron. Now we barely recognize each other. My more distant cousins have clearly prospered, and keep company with similarly well-healed friends. There were more Bentleys in the car park than are found at a premier league football club’s training ground.
My closest male cousin, Ivor, stood next to me in the prayer hall; we tend to do this at these family events. As ever we find ourselves making jokes to relieve the seriousness of the moment. We’ve been doing the same thing since we were small boys; I suppose it gives us comfort, these little moments of humor. We might be getting a little older, but when we’re together we’re still those small boys who played together at our mutual grandmother’s home.
Ivor is starting a formal genealogy of our family and has a computer programme to assist with the task. When we discussed how difficult it was just to work out our connection to all the people attending the funeral we realized how hard it would be to chart our family. But it will be great to see the result. You understand your present, and can shape your future if you know your past.
The funeral itself was, as ever, a sad and emotional outpouring of shared grief. I looked at the immediate family of the deceased, and when their veneer of smart sophistication crumpled under the strain of the moment they suddenly looked very much like my late grandmother.
I do feel a bit guilty, but as soon as it was over I returned home to make some revisions to my radio script. I can’t help it, I’m a writer, and I’m confident that my family would understand.
Monday, August 18, 2008
DejaVu
When you watch the Russian tanks rolling over Georgia the only humanity in the scene comes from the faces of the soldiers and the bystanders watching.
The former group looks more mystified than triumphant, confusion clear on their faces. They don’t understand why they’re not being greeted with friendship and fraternal greetings.
The look on the faces of the bystanders is one of horror and terror; clearly they can’t believe what’s happening or cope with the consequences. I remember that look; I have seen it before.
I was in Czechoslovakia in 1968 when the Russians invaded that country putting an end to freedom that would imprison those wonderful people for another 21 years until the velvet revolution.
I was there for that first hopeful Spring that promised so much, but then resulted in a further quarter century of misery for Eastern Europe.
That invasion was supposedly about Communist solidarity but was all about the continuation of the Russian empire, and this invasion is exactly the same.
Now the Russians have confirmed to the representatives of the European Union and others that by today at noon the Russian troops would withdraw from Georgia to the semi-autonomous region of South Ossetia.
More ominously the Russians have stated that they are conducting a phased withdrawal of their soldiers and replacing them with “peacekeepers”. That sounds very much like an Orwellian euphemism. My grandmother’s description of old time cowboy films is apt, “same men, different hats!” she would laughingly shout.
As this article is written the Russian government spokesman announced that the French foreign minister had misunderstood their negotiations. The Russian forces would be withdrawing, but not necessarily by today at noon. The Russian actions become murkier, more worrying and worse with every passing hour.
Meanwhile the people of Georgia visited their churches on Sunday and prayed for a future free of their Russian occupiers.
The former group looks more mystified than triumphant, confusion clear on their faces. They don’t understand why they’re not being greeted with friendship and fraternal greetings.
The look on the faces of the bystanders is one of horror and terror; clearly they can’t believe what’s happening or cope with the consequences. I remember that look; I have seen it before.
I was in Czechoslovakia in 1968 when the Russians invaded that country putting an end to freedom that would imprison those wonderful people for another 21 years until the velvet revolution.
I was there for that first hopeful Spring that promised so much, but then resulted in a further quarter century of misery for Eastern Europe.
That invasion was supposedly about Communist solidarity but was all about the continuation of the Russian empire, and this invasion is exactly the same.
Now the Russians have confirmed to the representatives of the European Union and others that by today at noon the Russian troops would withdraw from Georgia to the semi-autonomous region of South Ossetia.
More ominously the Russians have stated that they are conducting a phased withdrawal of their soldiers and replacing them with “peacekeepers”. That sounds very much like an Orwellian euphemism. My grandmother’s description of old time cowboy films is apt, “same men, different hats!” she would laughingly shout.
As this article is written the Russian government spokesman announced that the French foreign minister had misunderstood their negotiations. The Russian forces would be withdrawing, but not necessarily by today at noon. The Russian actions become murkier, more worrying and worse with every passing hour.
Meanwhile the people of Georgia visited their churches on Sunday and prayed for a future free of their Russian occupiers.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
GimletEyes
“Poland is making itself a target for attack. Such targets are destroyed as a first priority.”
These are the extremely threatening words of General Nogovitsyn, Russia’s second highest-ranking military man. He was speaking after Poland has agreed with the Americans to host part of their missile shield in their country.
Obviously the Russians see the missile umbrella proposed by the Americans as a threat and are seeking to counter this with some good old- fashioned cold war rhetoric and rattling of sabers.
Over the weekend it became clear that Russian forces were now in control of various Georgian towns and cities despite the ceasefire it had agreed and signed. The agreement had allowed the Russians the right to patrol close to the ceasefire lines but it’s apparent that they are digging in and moving on wherever they feel its appropriate. Important centers like Gori and the countries main East to West highway are presently under Russian military occupation and their army are now within twenty miles of Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital.
The future of this area of the world is clearly being driven by its history. Russia collectively remembers the almost ritualized humiliation it suffered at the dismantlement of the Soviet Union. Its leadership is determined to reassert itself at the top of the power apex in the world. Russia sees itself as a super power and this is just the first step of the process of making the rest of the world understand this.
But this is more about Russia’s age-old spheres of influence and the geopolitical reassertion of their power. Putin and his Kremlin cronies see Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic States and the entire Caucasus region as part of their sphere of influence.
Last week, on the British television show, Newsnight, a Russian diplomat baldly stated, “If you think this Georgian side show is something wait until you see what’s going to happen in Ukraine!”
The threat is clear, the Russian bear has come out of hibernation and are fulfilling Vladimir Putin’s promise to the Russian people, that he was going to reassert their country’s will on the world.
Of course that’s really what the Russian invasion of Georgia is really all about. They have tested the West’s resolve to support their Georgian ally and found us wanting. The Russians know we are in the same mood as Neville Chamberlain at Munich. The Russians know they have an open goal in which to score. Will they decide to exploit the advantage?
America is making all the right noises, but as discussed previously in this column, there’s nothing concrete America can do militarily to resist these Russian actions. Unless America pulled out of Afghanistan or Iraq it just doesn’t have the spare capacity, the resources, or, let’s face it, the will, to take the Russians on.
America’s only other military options involve its navy and air force. All of us hope and believe they will not go strategically crazy with a disproportionately large-scale response. However a blockade or a small bombing run would be just a gesture that could, nevertheless, harvest much more serious reactions.
Much more likely is some concerted diplomatic pressure on Russia to behave. But Russia is clearly prepared to pay a diplomatic and economic price to achieve its strategic goals.
This was proved over the last week when Russia’s financial masters dumped some of its Western stocks and shares at a loss to make their anger visible.
When it was voiced to Russian diplomats that their country might be thrown out of the G8 rich countries club he burst into laughter. His point of view was obvious, “we can live without it.” That doesn’t mean that the West can or should simply stand on the sidelines as Russia’s acts threaten to conquer Georgia, and remove it from the political map.
The international community must apply intense, continuous and increasing diplomatic pressure on Russia.
The Russians must also be economically sanctioned in whatever ways that makes them understand that they will lose more than they gain by their repressive, rapacious and retrograde actions against Georgia.
These are the extremely threatening words of General Nogovitsyn, Russia’s second highest-ranking military man. He was speaking after Poland has agreed with the Americans to host part of their missile shield in their country.
Obviously the Russians see the missile umbrella proposed by the Americans as a threat and are seeking to counter this with some good old- fashioned cold war rhetoric and rattling of sabers.
Over the weekend it became clear that Russian forces were now in control of various Georgian towns and cities despite the ceasefire it had agreed and signed. The agreement had allowed the Russians the right to patrol close to the ceasefire lines but it’s apparent that they are digging in and moving on wherever they feel its appropriate. Important centers like Gori and the countries main East to West highway are presently under Russian military occupation and their army are now within twenty miles of Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital.
The future of this area of the world is clearly being driven by its history. Russia collectively remembers the almost ritualized humiliation it suffered at the dismantlement of the Soviet Union. Its leadership is determined to reassert itself at the top of the power apex in the world. Russia sees itself as a super power and this is just the first step of the process of making the rest of the world understand this.
But this is more about Russia’s age-old spheres of influence and the geopolitical reassertion of their power. Putin and his Kremlin cronies see Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic States and the entire Caucasus region as part of their sphere of influence.
Last week, on the British television show, Newsnight, a Russian diplomat baldly stated, “If you think this Georgian side show is something wait until you see what’s going to happen in Ukraine!”
The threat is clear, the Russian bear has come out of hibernation and are fulfilling Vladimir Putin’s promise to the Russian people, that he was going to reassert their country’s will on the world.
Of course that’s really what the Russian invasion of Georgia is really all about. They have tested the West’s resolve to support their Georgian ally and found us wanting. The Russians know we are in the same mood as Neville Chamberlain at Munich. The Russians know they have an open goal in which to score. Will they decide to exploit the advantage?
America is making all the right noises, but as discussed previously in this column, there’s nothing concrete America can do militarily to resist these Russian actions. Unless America pulled out of Afghanistan or Iraq it just doesn’t have the spare capacity, the resources, or, let’s face it, the will, to take the Russians on.
America’s only other military options involve its navy and air force. All of us hope and believe they will not go strategically crazy with a disproportionately large-scale response. However a blockade or a small bombing run would be just a gesture that could, nevertheless, harvest much more serious reactions.
Much more likely is some concerted diplomatic pressure on Russia to behave. But Russia is clearly prepared to pay a diplomatic and economic price to achieve its strategic goals.
This was proved over the last week when Russia’s financial masters dumped some of its Western stocks and shares at a loss to make their anger visible.
When it was voiced to Russian diplomats that their country might be thrown out of the G8 rich countries club he burst into laughter. His point of view was obvious, “we can live without it.” That doesn’t mean that the West can or should simply stand on the sidelines as Russia’s acts threaten to conquer Georgia, and remove it from the political map.
The international community must apply intense, continuous and increasing diplomatic pressure on Russia.
The Russians must also be economically sanctioned in whatever ways that makes them understand that they will lose more than they gain by their repressive, rapacious and retrograde actions against Georgia.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
ReadersandMe
This is where we explain the purpose of blogs like this one. I received the following e-mail comment from Eddy Dockett, who states that he is anonymous.
“What a load of nonsense. RIPA doesn’t provide any new powers, it just regulates the provision of the old ones (duh- it’s called the REGULATION of Investigatory Powers).
Councils already had the power to watch someone if they thought they were committing a criminal act, and benefit fraud is a criminal act which costs the UK millions. RIPA actually serves to add accountability and oversight to these powers, hence the creation of the Surveillance Commissioners.
Looks to me like you haven't read the legislation, just the papers. Well Tony, how very creative of you. I'm not surprised you list one of your favourite books at the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations- you obviously get a kick out of regurgitating other peoples' words. Lazy.
And humour? I’ve read funnier parking tickets.
Eddy Dockett”
I did read the legislation and the officially released papers. I believe that these powers are an abuse of our freedom, and their use in the circumstances outlined only serves to deepen that abuse.
No one disputes that there are benefit fraudsters and that this scourge must be combated. What we are contesting is whether the RIPA legislation and its employment are necessary for the whole of our society to combat this comparatively tiny problem in a small part of it.
This blog exists, primarily, for me to air my views without censorship, control or editing from others. To achieve this wonderful goal I forfeit some income, but it still feels worthwhile to me.
I am taking the time to explain this today because the humorless and “anonymous” Eddy, who has taken a major dislike to me, my views and even my taste in books attacked the blog yesterday.
The specific he attacked was, as you can witness, my piece on the RIPA legislation and its use. I include an excerpt of the offending article because I’m astonished that of all my writing this is what upset this reader.
“Today we can explore an inexplicable contradiction. On the one hand there is the media uproar about Google Earth and their unfolding photo mapping of every one of our streets.
On the other hand there are the local councils using the RIPA laws to enforce laws it was never intended for. I don’t understand why people are upset about a mapping picture of their home but are not upset about someone spying on their lives.
RIPA is the name of the British law designed to help counter terrorism. According to the Home Office arm of the British Government The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to give it the full name legislates for using methods of surveillance and information gathering to help the prevention of crime, including terrorism.”
I stand by every word of the article.
Occasionally you get attacked by the odd, usually anonymous e mailer as I did today. He didn’t like the RIPA article and thought it wasn’t humorous.
Sometimes I don’t even try to be humorous, and sometimes, it just isn’t appropriate. From reading your e-mail Eddy I get the impression you don’t have much of a sense of humor yourself.
Mr. Dockett also attacks my profile’s stated taste in books of quotations. I’m sorry if this offends you, but perhaps you could learn something of wisdom by reading the wit of others that preceded us.
I can only recommend that, if what I write upsets you, don’t read it.
“What a load of nonsense. RIPA doesn’t provide any new powers, it just regulates the provision of the old ones (duh- it’s called the REGULATION of Investigatory Powers).
Councils already had the power to watch someone if they thought they were committing a criminal act, and benefit fraud is a criminal act which costs the UK millions. RIPA actually serves to add accountability and oversight to these powers, hence the creation of the Surveillance Commissioners.
Looks to me like you haven't read the legislation, just the papers. Well Tony, how very creative of you. I'm not surprised you list one of your favourite books at the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations- you obviously get a kick out of regurgitating other peoples' words. Lazy.
And humour? I’ve read funnier parking tickets.
Eddy Dockett”
I did read the legislation and the officially released papers. I believe that these powers are an abuse of our freedom, and their use in the circumstances outlined only serves to deepen that abuse.
No one disputes that there are benefit fraudsters and that this scourge must be combated. What we are contesting is whether the RIPA legislation and its employment are necessary for the whole of our society to combat this comparatively tiny problem in a small part of it.
This blog exists, primarily, for me to air my views without censorship, control or editing from others. To achieve this wonderful goal I forfeit some income, but it still feels worthwhile to me.
I am taking the time to explain this today because the humorless and “anonymous” Eddy, who has taken a major dislike to me, my views and even my taste in books attacked the blog yesterday.
The specific he attacked was, as you can witness, my piece on the RIPA legislation and its use. I include an excerpt of the offending article because I’m astonished that of all my writing this is what upset this reader.
“Today we can explore an inexplicable contradiction. On the one hand there is the media uproar about Google Earth and their unfolding photo mapping of every one of our streets.
On the other hand there are the local councils using the RIPA laws to enforce laws it was never intended for. I don’t understand why people are upset about a mapping picture of their home but are not upset about someone spying on their lives.
RIPA is the name of the British law designed to help counter terrorism. According to the Home Office arm of the British Government The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to give it the full name legislates for using methods of surveillance and information gathering to help the prevention of crime, including terrorism.”
I stand by every word of the article.
Occasionally you get attacked by the odd, usually anonymous e mailer as I did today. He didn’t like the RIPA article and thought it wasn’t humorous.
Sometimes I don’t even try to be humorous, and sometimes, it just isn’t appropriate. From reading your e-mail Eddy I get the impression you don’t have much of a sense of humor yourself.
Mr. Dockett also attacks my profile’s stated taste in books of quotations. I’m sorry if this offends you, but perhaps you could learn something of wisdom by reading the wit of others that preceded us.
I can only recommend that, if what I write upsets you, don’t read it.
Friday, August 15, 2008
RussianBearHugs
From the e-mails received from the readers of my blogs about the Russians in Georgia it’s clear that this is an issue that worries many of us. The fact that the Russians signed a ceasefire with the Georgians a couple of days back gave many a false sense of security.
We have all witnessed on television and media reports that there are many casual and perhaps organized acts of savagery being perpetrated on local and international civilians by the South Ossetian militia.
The facts are that, so far, the Russians are tightening their grip on the areas of Georgia in which they are interested. Clearly they are also allowing the South Ossetian militia free rein to terrorize the ethnic Georgians who live amongst them. There are many stories of murder, pillage and looting of this nature. If the Russians wanted to put an end to this outrageous behavior they could do it in a moment.
Meanwhile the American government is making increasingly graver noises of disapproval of Russia’s actions.
The Western “liberal” media’s attempt to equate Russian actions in Georgia with those of the Western alliance in Iraq and Afghanistan especially angers me. They bear virtually no similarity and this argument, should we have it, is specious and intentionally mischievous. Just for starters we all should remember two names, the Taliban and Sadaam Hussein. They, and some of their most cruel, illegitimate, barbarous, deceitful and heinous acts formed part of the argument to demolish those regimes. The fact that they massacred people, tortured, gassed and pulled people’s lives apart seems to have been conveniently forgotten. What did Georgia do that had any equivalence?
Other than having the misfortune to be geographically contiguous to the Russian bear they didn’t do much wrong. Russia just doesn’t want a friend of the West living on their doorstep.
This might have a serious and adverse affect on the long-term relationships of many of Russia’s neighbors. Poland has now agreed to the stationing of American missiles on its soil after 18 months of negotiation. As Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister stated, “We have crossed the Rubicon,” referring to this move being fundamental to the future of his country’s relationship with Russia. Tusk went on to explain that this deal with America included a “mutual commitment” between his country and the USA to come to each other’s assistance in case of trouble.
This is clearly aimed at countering the perceived Russian threat although the Polish and American official stance is that the missile umbrella is really being put into place to counter the threat from various unnamed rogue states. The Russians don’t believe this and see it as a strategic threat and believe this move upsets the military balance in their region and as a consequence they have stated they will be aiming their missiles at these new missile installations.
The Russian action in South Ossetia and Georgia is not over even though they claim that it is. Listen to the words of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, “One can forget about Georgia’s territorial integrity because I believe it is impossible to persuade South Ossetia and Abkhazia to agree with the logic that they can be forced back into the Georgian state.”
On the ground the Russians give every indication that those two semi autonomous regions are being forcibly switched from nominal Georgian control to formal Russian hegemony. There might also be some of Georgia itself that the Russians will decide to keep as a victory prize. If any country dares to challenge this the whole of that country could well find itself back in the Russian empire.
We have all witnessed on television and media reports that there are many casual and perhaps organized acts of savagery being perpetrated on local and international civilians by the South Ossetian militia.
The facts are that, so far, the Russians are tightening their grip on the areas of Georgia in which they are interested. Clearly they are also allowing the South Ossetian militia free rein to terrorize the ethnic Georgians who live amongst them. There are many stories of murder, pillage and looting of this nature. If the Russians wanted to put an end to this outrageous behavior they could do it in a moment.
Meanwhile the American government is making increasingly graver noises of disapproval of Russia’s actions.
The Western “liberal” media’s attempt to equate Russian actions in Georgia with those of the Western alliance in Iraq and Afghanistan especially angers me. They bear virtually no similarity and this argument, should we have it, is specious and intentionally mischievous. Just for starters we all should remember two names, the Taliban and Sadaam Hussein. They, and some of their most cruel, illegitimate, barbarous, deceitful and heinous acts formed part of the argument to demolish those regimes. The fact that they massacred people, tortured, gassed and pulled people’s lives apart seems to have been conveniently forgotten. What did Georgia do that had any equivalence?
Other than having the misfortune to be geographically contiguous to the Russian bear they didn’t do much wrong. Russia just doesn’t want a friend of the West living on their doorstep.
This might have a serious and adverse affect on the long-term relationships of many of Russia’s neighbors. Poland has now agreed to the stationing of American missiles on its soil after 18 months of negotiation. As Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister stated, “We have crossed the Rubicon,” referring to this move being fundamental to the future of his country’s relationship with Russia. Tusk went on to explain that this deal with America included a “mutual commitment” between his country and the USA to come to each other’s assistance in case of trouble.
This is clearly aimed at countering the perceived Russian threat although the Polish and American official stance is that the missile umbrella is really being put into place to counter the threat from various unnamed rogue states. The Russians don’t believe this and see it as a strategic threat and believe this move upsets the military balance in their region and as a consequence they have stated they will be aiming their missiles at these new missile installations.
The Russian action in South Ossetia and Georgia is not over even though they claim that it is. Listen to the words of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, “One can forget about Georgia’s territorial integrity because I believe it is impossible to persuade South Ossetia and Abkhazia to agree with the logic that they can be forced back into the Georgian state.”
On the ground the Russians give every indication that those two semi autonomous regions are being forcibly switched from nominal Georgian control to formal Russian hegemony. There might also be some of Georgia itself that the Russians will decide to keep as a victory prize. If any country dares to challenge this the whole of that country could well find itself back in the Russian empire.
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