The British Police generally do a difficult job fairly well. They put their own hides between the rest of us and danger. Every now and then a police officer will pay the price for that, with their health or their life.
The average citizen of the UK would probably not want to swap them for any other nation’s police forces.
That is why it is so appalling that they appear to have fallen down so very badly in the case of poor Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian electrician, who had apparently over stayed his visa.
According to the Independent Police Complaints Commission the Metropolitan Police released, what was described as, "incorrect information" - saying Mr de Menezes had been challenged and "refused to obey" and kept claiming he had been wearing suspicious bulky clothing when he had not.
The report said:
"The IPCC investigation team understands that Mr de Menezes did not refuse to obey a challenge prior to being shot and was not wearing any clothing that could be classed as suspicious.”
"However there is no suggestion that the challenge is one that an innocent man would have understood, or that Mr de Menezes was given instructions that he could have chosen to obey."
On the face of it, but for the grace of God, it could have been any of us. Well any youngish male who had a bit of a tan and dark hair, one suspects, based on the profiling.
What were they playing at? By the sound of the IPCC report he was not carrying a rucksack, or wearing clothing that could have concealed a bomb. By the sound of it he was never given a realistic opportunity to ‘come quietly’.
One worries that even if he had put his hands in the air and said ‘I surrender’ he would not have survived his encounter with the Met.
Thursday, 2 August 2007
Obama threatens Pakistan over al-Qaeda
It seems Barack Obama is getting overly feisty in his efforts to get himself the Democrat ticket.
Talking about possible terrorist targets in Pakistan he said: "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will,"
Nice to know how concerned he is over national sovereignty. He’ll play along giving it lip service - as long as he can get his own way. But if he is baulked then an act of war is presumably not out of the question.
Pakistan’s President Musharraf has certain difficulties dealing with al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in areas bordering Afghanistan. They are wild and in many respects virtually autonomous, controlled by tribes.
I hope Mr Obama is only trying to sound tough and hoping this will play to the domestic hawks, but the fact is President Musharraf has been a key US ally in it’s ‘war on terror’ since 9/11 and this is the thanks he gets.
Obama’s grandstanding makes him look pretty feeble to his own people and doesn’t seem likely to exactly strengthen his hand domestically.
It is also enough to make everyone else think twice. On the face of it Obama seems to think, if the rest of the world doesn’t jump when he says frog then some ass kicking ‘military intervention’ may be in order.
Talking about possible terrorist targets in Pakistan he said: "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will,"
Nice to know how concerned he is over national sovereignty. He’ll play along giving it lip service - as long as he can get his own way. But if he is baulked then an act of war is presumably not out of the question.
Pakistan’s President Musharraf has certain difficulties dealing with al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in areas bordering Afghanistan. They are wild and in many respects virtually autonomous, controlled by tribes.
I hope Mr Obama is only trying to sound tough and hoping this will play to the domestic hawks, but the fact is President Musharraf has been a key US ally in it’s ‘war on terror’ since 9/11 and this is the thanks he gets.
Obama’s grandstanding makes him look pretty feeble to his own people and doesn’t seem likely to exactly strengthen his hand domestically.
It is also enough to make everyone else think twice. On the face of it Obama seems to think, if the rest of the world doesn’t jump when he says frog then some ass kicking ‘military intervention’ may be in order.
Wednesday, 1 August 2007
The new EU Constitutional ‘Treaty’ is virtually a ‘cut and paste job’
The official English translation of the New EU Constitutional ‘Treaty’ is now out – It has not gone unnoticed that they waited until Parliament were off on their 10 week summer break.
They have taken out the actual word 'constitution' and have avoided enshrining legal status to the EU flag, motto and anthem.
They have done a Find/Replace on ‘Foreign Minister’ and changed those references to ‘High Representative’. Mmmm - ‘Catchy’. They must have been reading Lord of the Rings again.
Conservative foreign affairs spokesman, William Hague, pointed out:
"We can see clearly what a cut-and-paste job this is from the old EU constitution. Virtually everything that was in the old EU constitution is in this treaty."
William Hague is pretty much spot on there. It also includes a handy replacement ‘ratchet clause’ lifted more-or-less word for word from the constitution allowing the EU to scrap national vetoes and sidestep referendums. All the rage with the european elite these days.
So much for Gordon Brown and his smokescreen ‘red lines’. How does he look at himself in the mirror each morning when he shaves?
They have taken out the actual word 'constitution' and have avoided enshrining legal status to the EU flag, motto and anthem.
They have done a Find/Replace on ‘Foreign Minister’ and changed those references to ‘High Representative’. Mmmm - ‘Catchy’. They must have been reading Lord of the Rings again.
Conservative foreign affairs spokesman, William Hague, pointed out:
"We can see clearly what a cut-and-paste job this is from the old EU constitution. Virtually everything that was in the old EU constitution is in this treaty."
William Hague is pretty much spot on there. It also includes a handy replacement ‘ratchet clause’ lifted more-or-less word for word from the constitution allowing the EU to scrap national vetoes and sidestep referendums. All the rage with the european elite these days.
So much for Gordon Brown and his smokescreen ‘red lines’. How does he look at himself in the mirror each morning when he shaves?
UK Drs reduce home visits by half in 10 years
The latest official figures on UK GPs show more consultations are now carried out by telephone and nurses see one in three patients. More damning, home visits carried out by GPs has halved in ten years.
Figures also show they are putting in on average seven hours less work per week yet also doing more consultations.
One wonders if they can fit the extra consultations in because they are reluctant to do home visits.
Ten years ago if your child had a temperature of 103 °F (39.5°C) chances are your Dr would come out to do a home visit. These days (certainly out of hours) you are told to take them to the nearest NHS direct facility, probably a few miles away.
It’s OK if you don’t work, but most Drs are effectively office hours only and getting a non emergency appointment is not always easy.
Seems that GP’s practices are taking some of the workload hospitals used to carry too, maybe this is having an impact.
It is all probably done so it looks good in Government ‘targets’, but is it actually good for the patients?
Many would say the difficulty in getting a home visit from a Dr from your own practice, or even from someone at all, outweighs any theoretical gains.
Figures also show they are putting in on average seven hours less work per week yet also doing more consultations.
One wonders if they can fit the extra consultations in because they are reluctant to do home visits.
Ten years ago if your child had a temperature of 103 °F (39.5°C) chances are your Dr would come out to do a home visit. These days (certainly out of hours) you are told to take them to the nearest NHS direct facility, probably a few miles away.
It’s OK if you don’t work, but most Drs are effectively office hours only and getting a non emergency appointment is not always easy.
Seems that GP’s practices are taking some of the workload hospitals used to carry too, maybe this is having an impact.
It is all probably done so it looks good in Government ‘targets’, but is it actually good for the patients?
Many would say the difficulty in getting a home visit from a Dr from your own practice, or even from someone at all, outweighs any theoretical gains.
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
The briefing against patio heaters continues...
It seems mosquito populations are ‘taking off’ ;-), particularly in Norfolk according to the BBC. An insect conservation trust spokesman pointed out: "Where you have warm, wet weather in the summer that does tend to be a good time for mosquitoes, giving them the opportunity to breed.” "Last year June was quite warm and wet and there appeared to be a lot more mosquitoes about then."
Up until the 1880s malaria was common in the UK and was endemic in areas of Kent and Essex.
So far so good… Now the Metro, a free newspaper for London Commuters, is linking mosquitoes to the newly demonised Patio Heater.
They seem to suggest, quoting Matt Shardlow, of the trust Buglife, that there is a ‘connection’ between growing mosquito populations and the increased use of outdoor heaters.
Queue: Twilight zone music…
...OK stop now.
What he actually said was: "A lot of people believe that mosquitoes are attracted to body heat but when they identify their prey, what they actually home in on is the carbon dioxide.”
What that means is that, the heaters may attract any mosquitoes that happen for other reasons to be in the vicinity to make for the area round the heater. In the same way as a group of people sitting outside in the evening might by their exhalations of carbon dioxide, without the aid of an ‘evil’ patio heater, might attract them.
The heaters do not spontaneously create mosquitoes. They do not provide the conditions for them to breed, creating a plague of them.
So, the only actual ‘connection’, as they so disingenuously put it, between the ‘growing mosquito populations’ and the increased use of out door heaters, is that they may make it more likely, that a few more of the mosquitoes within ‘smelling distance’, will eventually find their way to an operating patio heater - mistakenly taking it for a crowd of people, in the same way as a moth might mistake a patio light for the moon and turn up for the evening…
Up until the 1880s malaria was common in the UK and was endemic in areas of Kent and Essex.
So far so good… Now the Metro, a free newspaper for London Commuters, is linking mosquitoes to the newly demonised Patio Heater.
They seem to suggest, quoting Matt Shardlow, of the trust Buglife, that there is a ‘connection’ between growing mosquito populations and the increased use of outdoor heaters.
Queue: Twilight zone music…
...OK stop now.
What he actually said was: "A lot of people believe that mosquitoes are attracted to body heat but when they identify their prey, what they actually home in on is the carbon dioxide.”
What that means is that, the heaters may attract any mosquitoes that happen for other reasons to be in the vicinity to make for the area round the heater. In the same way as a group of people sitting outside in the evening might by their exhalations of carbon dioxide, without the aid of an ‘evil’ patio heater, might attract them.
The heaters do not spontaneously create mosquitoes. They do not provide the conditions for them to breed, creating a plague of them.
So, the only actual ‘connection’, as they so disingenuously put it, between the ‘growing mosquito populations’ and the increased use of out door heaters, is that they may make it more likely, that a few more of the mosquitoes within ‘smelling distance’, will eventually find their way to an operating patio heater - mistakenly taking it for a crowd of people, in the same way as a moth might mistake a patio light for the moon and turn up for the evening…
Monday, 30 July 2007
UK Premier's dilemma
There is renewed speculation that Gordon Brown could call a snap general election, in the autumn.
He may be considering if this might be good for him, apart from the ‘Broon Bounce’. He is a man who likes to kill as many birds as possible with a single stone.
He must be wondering if a general election might take the electorate’s eye off the possibility of a referendum on the EU Constitutional ‘Treaty’. Also that it might enable him to suppress demands about a referendum on misplaced ‘loyalty’ grounds in the run up to an election.
Parliament is due to resume just 10 days before he is due to finalise the ‘Treaty’ in Lisbon on October 18th, 19th. If he can get that far and can keep the electorate distracted he probably thinks he will be home free.
He will have to weigh that, against the possibility that it could torpedo his chances, drawing the electorate’s attention back to the fact that Nu-Lab manifesto promises now appear to be proven to be not worth the paper they are printed on.
Decisions, decisions…
He may be considering if this might be good for him, apart from the ‘Broon Bounce’. He is a man who likes to kill as many birds as possible with a single stone.
He must be wondering if a general election might take the electorate’s eye off the possibility of a referendum on the EU Constitutional ‘Treaty’. Also that it might enable him to suppress demands about a referendum on misplaced ‘loyalty’ grounds in the run up to an election.
Parliament is due to resume just 10 days before he is due to finalise the ‘Treaty’ in Lisbon on October 18th, 19th. If he can get that far and can keep the electorate distracted he probably thinks he will be home free.
He will have to weigh that, against the possibility that it could torpedo his chances, drawing the electorate’s attention back to the fact that Nu-Lab manifesto promises now appear to be proven to be not worth the paper they are printed on.
Decisions, decisions…
Sunday, 29 July 2007
Political blog list
They are compiling lists of political blogs again. Anyone who feels kindly towards Critical Faculty Dojo please feel free to recommend it here. It would be nice to get in there somewhere...
More Calls for a Referendum on the EU Constitutional 'Treaty'
Gisela Stuart, the UK MP for Birmingham Edgbaston has strongly criticised Gordon Brown for failing to hold a referendum on the EU Constitutional ‘Treaty’, saying: "One of Tony Blair's last acts was to renege on a promise and it is almost unbelievable that one of Gordon Brown's first has been to do the same," she went on to say "There is still time for Gordon Brown to put this right.
An MP with principles. One wonders if she keeps a hen with a full set of teeth at home too.
The fact is that this so-called ‘Treaty’ is the old EU Constitution in a disguise so thin it would not fool a 5 year old. It is not as convincing as a cheap plastic set of toy glasses nose and moustache.
Hans-Gert Poettering, president of the European Parliament has said as much stressing that the new treaty, while complicated, would preserve the constitution by a different, more 'indirect' method in a letter to Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.
How Gordon Broon can talk of his joke red lines and claim it is not the constitution without going red as a beetroot with embarrassment is difficult to grasp, one can only begin to conjecture it is a testament to his accomplishment as a liar.
Labour was elected on the promise of holding a referendum on the constitution. If this was a lie, as it appears to be, then what real legitimacy do their MPs have?
If an MP is elected under false pretences, as it is increasingly obvious all existing Nu-Lab MPs were, then what right do they have to hold office, or expect the rest of us to go along with it?
Though he must surely be hoping the UK electorate’s goldfish like capacity to forget the most outrageous barefaced lies of politicians will lull them back into a stupor during the parliamentary recess, the Prime Minister, can’t rely indefinitely on their lethargy.
There is a lot of disquiet over this betrayal of trust in many different quarters from poweful Unions, to the more honerable MPs.
An MP with principles. One wonders if she keeps a hen with a full set of teeth at home too.
The fact is that this so-called ‘Treaty’ is the old EU Constitution in a disguise so thin it would not fool a 5 year old. It is not as convincing as a cheap plastic set of toy glasses nose and moustache.
Hans-Gert Poettering, president of the European Parliament has said as much stressing that the new treaty, while complicated, would preserve the constitution by a different, more 'indirect' method in a letter to Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.
How Gordon Broon can talk of his joke red lines and claim it is not the constitution without going red as a beetroot with embarrassment is difficult to grasp, one can only begin to conjecture it is a testament to his accomplishment as a liar.
Labour was elected on the promise of holding a referendum on the constitution. If this was a lie, as it appears to be, then what real legitimacy do their MPs have?
If an MP is elected under false pretences, as it is increasingly obvious all existing Nu-Lab MPs were, then what right do they have to hold office, or expect the rest of us to go along with it?
Though he must surely be hoping the UK electorate’s goldfish like capacity to forget the most outrageous barefaced lies of politicians will lull them back into a stupor during the parliamentary recess, the Prime Minister, can’t rely indefinitely on their lethargy.
There is a lot of disquiet over this betrayal of trust in many different quarters from poweful Unions, to the more honerable MPs.
Friday, 27 July 2007
Pressure group urges Air ambulance be absorbed into NHS
The health union, financed and supported, Pro NHS pressure group London Health Emergency is, as is it’s brief, pushing the NHS agenda and urging the charitably funded London Air Ambulance service be absorbed into the NHS.
The UK Department of Health is resisting this arguing that these services are very expensive to operate and a decision must be made locally on whether the service should be supplemented. They also point out that they do provide the clinical staff for these services.
The London Air Ambulance needs £750,000 to keep the service that flies out of Whitechapel, East London, from being grounded and has recently appealed for more donations.
Clearly the service is valued by the people of London, or it would never have ‘got off the ground’ ;-) in the first place.
The problem for the DOH, if they fund this, is that it will cost them money, lots of money. There are charitably funded air ambulances all over the country once they create a precedent there are those (not least amongst them LHE) who will argue: ‘Why should London be funded when they are not’?
A further consideration is that currently, not being subject to stifling NHS management, these services are generally quite effective and responsive to the public need. In fact it is logical to conclude that if it were up to the NHS they would not actually exist at all and would certainly be vulnerable to cuts if the NHS controlled their budget.
Personally I would be far happier if my own air ambulance service were to stay well out of the clutches of the NHS and the CFD household make regular contributions to help keep it that way.
Given the vast wealth in London, especially in the City and Canary wharf it is difficult to understand why their funding is short. One would have thought it would be in the interests of businesses and corporations with a large presence in the Capital to donate to the service - Not to mention the citizens of London.
If you live in, or work in London, think about how, for a few pence, you could help keep the service going.
It would be nice to know it was there if you really needed it and couldn’t be closed by funding cuts - wouldn’t it?
If enough people think it important and donate then it’s future should be secure.
You can donate here. Pass it on…
Hat tip to SarahC on this one for drawing it to my attention.
The UK Department of Health is resisting this arguing that these services are very expensive to operate and a decision must be made locally on whether the service should be supplemented. They also point out that they do provide the clinical staff for these services.
The London Air Ambulance needs £750,000 to keep the service that flies out of Whitechapel, East London, from being grounded and has recently appealed for more donations.
Clearly the service is valued by the people of London, or it would never have ‘got off the ground’ ;-) in the first place.
The problem for the DOH, if they fund this, is that it will cost them money, lots of money. There are charitably funded air ambulances all over the country once they create a precedent there are those (not least amongst them LHE) who will argue: ‘Why should London be funded when they are not’?
A further consideration is that currently, not being subject to stifling NHS management, these services are generally quite effective and responsive to the public need. In fact it is logical to conclude that if it were up to the NHS they would not actually exist at all and would certainly be vulnerable to cuts if the NHS controlled their budget.
Personally I would be far happier if my own air ambulance service were to stay well out of the clutches of the NHS and the CFD household make regular contributions to help keep it that way.
Given the vast wealth in London, especially in the City and Canary wharf it is difficult to understand why their funding is short. One would have thought it would be in the interests of businesses and corporations with a large presence in the Capital to donate to the service - Not to mention the citizens of London.
If you live in, or work in London, think about how, for a few pence, you could help keep the service going.
It would be nice to know it was there if you really needed it and couldn’t be closed by funding cuts - wouldn’t it?
If enough people think it important and donate then it’s future should be secure.
You can donate here. Pass it on…
Hat tip to SarahC on this one for drawing it to my attention.
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