Miles Kington Has Died

Since I was a child,every weekend when I was at home my parents have bought all four broadsheets.

When I was younger, I spent an hour a day pouring over the glossy colour magic of The Sunday Times Magazine and The Independent Magazine, the intricate detail of the media and business sections, and the cold hard international news.

In time, I grew to look forward to the myriad of colummnists.

Three in particular have brightend my day, made me feel happy for bounding down the stairs.

Craig Brown, Armando Iannucci and Miles Kington.

Iannucci needs no introduction. He writes for the Observer every Sunday. His column is packed full of reassuring wit.

Craig Brown wrote the beautiful "This Is Craig Brown", which is in my room at the halls of residence. He created Bel Littlejohn and Wallace Arnold, two comic polar opposites, and wrote the Way Of The World column after the scathing genius Auberon Waugh passed away.

Miles Kington was in the Independent, full of cheerful humour.

Whenever I sat in Brighton flicking through a copy, I always savoured his column.

Some of them went on my wall, like a collection of rare butterflies held up by four dots of Blu-Tac.

Gentle puns and parodies were dotted through his columns like Easter Eggs in a churchyard, a silver wrapper glinting through the grass.

Never cruel or needlessly offensive, he could have taught your Russell Howards and Jimmy Carrs a thing or two.

It is interesting how the truly gifted are the ones who are quietly confident, not needing a primetime E4 show or a spread in Celeb to feel important.

Miles knew he was talented, and I hope he knew we loved him for it.

And now we have lost Miles.

An archive of his columns can be seen.

You can also remember him on a Facebook group.

His last one, written for yesterday's paper.

A witty column about Peter Hain was written as if Kington was helping an old lady across the world.

It ended with:

And where are we?

The other side of the street. You're on your own now.

We are on the other side of the street now, seperated from Miles not by traffic but by our mortal state.

May he rest in peace.

Afghan student sentenced to death for downloading report

Sayed Pervez Kambaksh has been sentenced to death in Afghanistan for distributing a report from a Farsi website.

Today, The Independent has launched a campaign to free Sayed.

You can sign the petition here.

His brother Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi claims he was not allowed a defence lawyer and that the trial was held secretly.

Rahimullah Samander, the president of the Afghan Independent Journalists' Association, said: "This is unfair, this is illegal.

He just printed a copy of something and looked at it and read it.

How can we believe in this 'democracy' if we can't even read, we can't even study?

We are asking Mr Karzai to quash the death sentence before it is too late."

Sayed was a journalism student like me, and it's scary what's happening to my equivalent in Afghanistan.

He reported for the newspaper Jahan-e-Naw

Please sign the petition and save Sayed's life. Do you really want a 23 year old to die for what he downloaded?

A Facebook group has also been set up. Sadly, a handful on the group support the sentencing.

Anna Penketh on the sentence.

Hans-Gert Pöttering has issued a plea for mercy.

International Federation of Journalists info.

Ways to tackle obesity: the stick and the carrot

Why are there no age restrictions on sales of unhealthy food?

Since many children eat outside the school premises, I would have thought that banning the sale of fast food and burgers to children under 16 would be a good way to force kids to eat healthily.

We have age-restricted products in newsagents, pubs and supermarkets.

We should add cafes and fast food chains to that list.

The reduction in fast food consumption will also reduce the amount of litter- how many times have you seen burger wrappers and straws peeking out of a hedgerow like Howard and Marina in Last Of The Summer Wine?

To those asking "how would you police this?", well, how has the ban on under 18's buyng glue been policed?

Of course some children will get round this, but they have for lighter and glue restrictions as well.

Like so many things in life, a combination of the carrot and the stick is needed.

Alongside this ban, therefore, we should have Home Economics lessons for every child.

"Home Economics" makes it sound like a Financial Times report on the child's household.

"The father fell 12 points against the aunt today..."

Maybe we should call the lessons Nutrition Education instead.

These NE lessons should enable the child to know how to cook a good dinner (with pudding), prepare a decent lunch and a filling breakfast.

Children should be discourgaed from snacking in front of the television and from using the microwave too much.

I must confess, the latter two are things I am often guilty of.

One problem is PFI contracts have locked schools into having vending machines full of Coca-Cola and chocolate.

However, one wonders how often the suppliers check their machines. Perhaps schools should not contact them when the machines are empty, or broken down.

The selling of of school playing fields has left many schools without facilities.

Schools in London should be granted access to Olympic facilities across the capital.
Travel charges on buses and the Underground should be waived for these visits, with special cards for school tripes provided by the GLA.

Elsewhere in the country, some fields could be bought from farmers, so children in rural or semi-rural communities have more space to play.

A bus service could be set up so children in iner-city schools can be driven into the countryside and learn P.E. there

Of course, it's not ideal-but then that's the Conservative Party for you. We let them in three times, and we're still suffering ten years later.

Guardian Guide To Video Now Online

I've added it to Saturday's post but thought I'd point out the Guardian Guide To Video is now online.

Thanks to Andy Dickinson for pointing that out.

Second Orange Democratic Movement MP Killed In Kenya

David Too, an MP for the Orange Democratic Movement has been shot dead in Eldoret.

This follows the killing of Mugabe Were on Monday 28th January.

Meanwhile the African Union chairman Oumar Konare has called for action.

However, the African Union does not seem to be very effective.

At the end of the first day of the African Union foreign ministers' meeting in Addis Ababa, a question was asked: "Why has the situation in Kenya not yet been discussed?"

They then debated whether to start talking about the crisis.

It was pointed out that time was running out as the Ethiopian government had invited all the ministers to dinner and it would be discourteous to be late.

.

An idea

Now Arnold Schwarzenegger is endorsing John McCain, I'd like to see him imitate Rainer Wolfcastle and annouce "McCain" before every appearance, in the style of Wolfcastle saying "McBane" in The Simpsons.

Just a little thought that I had last night.

Bobby Fischer Goes To War

Sport and politics have often blended together.

The most fascinating example of this for me is the 1972 match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer.

I'm not much of a chess player-my sister is-but Bobby Fischer Goes To War contains little that will confuse chess newcomers.

The book Bobby Fischer Goes To War is extremely informative about the controlling nature of the Soviet Union and the personalities of the two rivals.

Both Fischer and Spassky fight their own battles to get to Reykjavik.

Coming from a system where travelling abroad depends on what the Communist Party thinks of you, Spassky must "fight the system" to use a cliche.

When he loses a match, the Soviet Union punish him on his return for having banned literature.

Fischer must fight himself and his habit of snubbing people.

The two champions have two strikingly different personalities and live in two different worlds.

Fischer is irritated by almost anything outside the confines of chess, often rude beyond belief.

David Edmonds and John Eidinow describe him as "a grandmaster of hate".

He does show some lightness, though, when he befriends Icelandic police officer Saemundur Palsson, and he even cracks a joke towards the end of the book.

Spassky is confined by the expectations and power of the Soviet Union, yet is gentle and often suffers at the whims of Fischer, including losing the contest.

Fischer is never satisfied, asking for chessboards to be replaced and cameras to be removed. Sometimes a change may cause problems for Spassky, as he does not like playing in small rooms and finds the air stuffy.

Yet Fischer is the one who comes off the worst. He died recently, after having become a recluse and turning to anti-semitism.

He published a pamphlet alleging police brutality in 1981, and shouted "Death to the USA" on Phillippine radio the day of September 11th.

In 2005, he was granted Icelandic citizenship after a US deportation order relating to his breaking sanctions against the former Yugoslavia by playing chess there.

Spassky managed to escape the USSR in late 1976, and lives with his wife in France.

Bobby Fischer Goes To War is therefore a cautionary tale, not to let one aspect of one's life dominate it.

International Delete Your Myspace Account Day

Unhappy with the social networking service, Simon Owens of Bloggasm has declared today to be International Delete Your Myspace Account Day.

A Facebook group has been created for the event by Tom Krieglstein, and so far 1,764 people have joined.

Owens gives some reasons on the group:

This is for anyone who -

- already deleted their Myspace account,
- has a Myspace account but yet to delete it,
- never had an account but is annoyed by Myspace

The movement was started by blogger Simon Owens as a reaction to the increasing worthlessness of his Myspace account.

If you’re reading this and you’ve experienced any of the things on the list below, your account may be in need of deletion:

1. You rarely log in to Myspace except to delete spam friend requests from nude webcam girls.

2. You spend five minutes writing a wall post only to hit an error message when you try to post it because of all the website glitches.

3. You’re a girl who constantly gets marriage proposals from random men

4. You visit someone’s Myspace profile only to suddenly have music start blasting out of your speakers. Bonus points if it happens to you while you’re at work.

5. You have to make redundant clicks to perform simple tasks because Myspace keeps taking you to advertisement pages where you have to click on “return to myspace profile” in order to continue what you’re doing.

6. You visit someone’s profile only to have your eyes bleed because of terrible page layout with non-matching designs and font colors.

7. Your experience is hindered because of intrusive banner ads that either talk to you or try to reach out and block your view of what you’re trying to look at.

8. You read yet another news account about how some child predator using Myspace has abducted a little girl or that some hoax Myspace account has caused a teenager to commit suicide.

9. You’re frustrated with the fact that Myspace doesn’t allow you to post your contact info, meaning to contact someone you can only use Myspace’s glitchy Instant Messenger, message/email system, or wall commenting.

10. You’re tired of seeing Tom stare out at you from millions of friends lists and just wish he would change his f**king profile picture.

Response from Myspace:

The site claims Owens is just trying to be controversal.

But MySpace doubts that this will have a great impact on their network.

“This Delete-Your-MySpace day is just about being controversial,” Ms Horne said.

“MySpace is still the biggest social networking site in the world.”

Responses on the Web:

Article by Monica Tan.

Another Facebook group supporting Owens has 213 members,

There is some irony that so many who want to delete their MySpace accounts are on Facebook. One group member (Roelof Swanepoel)notes this:

What an catch 22 you have all found yourselves in dear followers of the internet age.

Instead of spending your hours and precsious time infron of the comp staring your eyes out of your cranium at your myspace you have just successfully replaced it with facebook.

Congratulations, you have accomplished nothing. Instead, take the time to stop reading this and go outside. Seriously. Leave.

Interviewed for Press Gazette blog

I was interviewed by Dave Lee of NUJ Students about why students should join the NUJ.

I should point out that although the story says I've finished at the NUJ, I am still on placement there.

Funds Needed For Youth Project In Tottenham

A project offering teenagers basic education has no Government funding.

Instead, The London Boxing Academy Community Project must rely on donations.

This project provides maths and english classes for excluded children, as well as way to work out anger through boxing lessons.

Chevez Campbell, 15, is one of the success stories. He used to hate school, now he plans to become a carpenter and points proudly to his name near the top of the class league table.

He said: "I wouldn't say I was trouble but I was heading that way. My life is different now. I've stopped getting into trouble, my mum doesn't have to intervene in my problems anymore - there are no problems, I'm happy."

You can donate to the LBACP.

Tripr.tv

Duncan Riley of TechCrunch blogs about Tripr.tv today.

Users submit short videos (30 to 90 seconds) of hotels they visit.

There is a few requirements though to qualify: videos must have “Good camera work,” good lighting, video with sound, so original noises are audible, “Don’t just film people or details, rather show a complete and representative view,

The site pays 33% of the commission it receives from the hotel to the filmaker.

As Tripr.tv says

A normal booking averages around 400 Euros.

The average commission Tripr.TV receives is between 7 and 10 percent.

The filmmaker will receive 33.3 percent.

As a calculation example this would mount up to 400 x 7% = €28,- x 33,3% = €9,32 per booking placed through your video. Payment follows 30 days after the end of the month.

Users on TechCrunch have pointed out that "Tripr" sounds like Tripper, which means gonorrhea in German.

Article 19 Is Concerned Over Kazakhstan Internet Censorship

The human rights organisation Article 19 is concerned about government censorship of Kazakhstan websites.

On 18 October 2007 four independent websites were blocked.

These sites published links to audio files containing politically sensitive telephone conversations alleged to feature senior government officials.

In the files the speakers describe Rakhat Aliyev, a former ally of President Nursultan Nazarbayev who now lives in exile.

No prior notice was sent to any of the websites to enable them to take action regarding the alleged irregularities.

This internet censorship contradicts Kazakhstan's signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This covenant guarantees the right to freedom of expression.

There have been allegations of selective targeting of websites.

One of the blocked sites, kub.kz, is hosted outside Kazakhstan.

It was suspended by the official website regulator, the Kazakhstan Network Information Center (KazNIC), under the “Regulation for the Allocation of Domain Space in the Kazakhstan Segment of the Internet” which prohibits sites with the .kz domain from being hosted abroad.

However, KazNIC is hosted in the USA, suggesting targeting of specific websites.

Article 19 calls on Kazakhstan to allow kub.kz and Internet sites in the country to operate freely,subject to international human rights laws.

My CPBF report for NUJ website

My report on the Campaign For Press and Broadcasting Freedom conference is now up on the NUJ web site.

Conference hears media freedom challenges

by Richard Brennan

NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear has called on journalists to take a stand on quality journalism, ethics and reporters’ rights.

He was speaking after Saturday 28 January’s packed New Threats to Media Freedom conference organised by the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, a group campaigning for diverse and democratic media. Speakers included Peter Wilby, former editor of the Independent on Sunday, Victoria Brittain, who spoke on the narrowing of the news spectrum, and Mark Stephens, who spoke on journalists and the law.

Jeremy also reminded journalists of the dangers faced by their colleagues across the world, mentioning the record number of journalists killed in 2008. Speaking shortly after the conference, Jeremy said: "We’ve heard today about many of the challenges facing journalists in the modern media world, but I have left the conference with a sense of hope.

"You can sense a growing resistance to attacks on public service broadcasting, to the lack of investment in local and national newspapers and to restrictions on reporting. The challenge now is to take the debate from the conference room to the workplace. By coming together in the union, journalists have the potential to make a real difference to the world in which they work."

OssiUrlaub.de Annouces Naked Flight

The online travel agency Ossiuraub.de has announced a nude flight between Erfurt in Eastern Germany and the Baltic Sea island resort of Usedom.

The flight, planned for July 5 and returning a week later, will be able to hold 55 passengers, and tickets will cost €499 ($735).

It is not yet clear if more naked flights will follow, though I think they'd be a good idea.

"I wish I could say we thought of it ourselves but the idea came from a customer," managing director Enrico Hess told Reuters. "It's an unusual gap in the market."

Nudity is popular in Germany, although this does vary between areas.

Passengers will only be allowed to show their natural beauty (or lack of it) once safely on the plane.

The flight crew will also be clothed at all times.

No doubt this to is to stop crowds of ogglers in the viewing galleries.

I wonder if Britsh flights will follow suit.

Air rage would also be a lot less likely if the other person is naked, and nervous air crew about to do safety demonstrations wouldn't need to worry about picturing people naked.

If you have enjoyed this blog post, why not check out our group blog, The Word From Westminster.

Kenyan Violence Intensifies After Death of MP

Four people have died in Narobi after unrest sparked by the death of MP Mugabe Were earlier today.

Police said that two men shot Were as the politician drove up to the gates of his home in the Woodley district just after midnight, then fled the scene.

"We have launched investigations," Julius Ndegwa, the Nairobi area police chief, said.

"The two criminals who shot him did not steal the car or anything else."

The Orange Democratic Movement has asked the government to prove that it was not involved.

Protestors gethered outside Mugabe Were's home, manning barricades of burning tyres.


There is also violence in many other areas of Kenya.

Police have used tear gas and helicopters to attempt to restore order.

They have rescued 300 Luo refugees from a 600 strong mob in Rift Valley.

There are claims the police are firing guns, but they say they are using rubber bullets.

Claims of Kikuyu gangs recruting members of their ethnic group to murder non-Kikuyus have been sent to the BBC.

A quote from photojournalist Mitch Albert sums up the deadly chaos "This is not the Kenya I know."


You can see pictures of the conflict here.

Facebook carrot panic buying group: Over 100,000 members

The Facebook group "On May 15th 2008, everybody needs to go out and panic buy CARROTS." now has over 100,000 members.

They have been mentioned on RTE 2FM and the interesting National Nine News, which also picked up on the anti-carrot panic buying group.

Sky News also has information on the group:

Student Freya Valentine, who created the original site, insists it is all just a bit of fun.

"We know we're not going to cause a massive world-wide shortage," she said.

"To the carroty people who are saying this could never happen - maybe you should be thankful for the imminent rise we are probably going to make [to] your profits on May 15."

There are also plans to post carrots to MP's. Hilary Benn seems to be a popular target.

One poster on the group has rather macabre carrot fantasies.

What I like most about this idea is that if people don't open the envelopes, after a week or so, they're gonna go manky and rotten & the stench will be gross!

A Frapper map of carrot panic buyers has also been created.

Panic Buying Pineapples?

Matt Biswas from Nottingham has created a panic buying group for pineapples, which has 94 members so far.

TechPresident Primaries Results Annouced.

Barack Obama and Ron Paul may not yet know the results of the Presidential Nominations, but they can taken comfort in having won the TechPresident Primaries.

Visitors to TechCrunch were able to vote on the most technology supportive candidate from each party, from 18th December until 28th January.

The vote was based on attitudes to subjects such as Net Neutrality and Mobile Spectrum Auction.

On the Democratic side, Obama received 60% of the vote, followed by Edwards with 26%.
Ron Paul received 73% of the Republican vote, followed by McCain with 16%.

One wonders what Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska (you lucky, lucky state) would have got if he had been a presidential candidate.

Ten movies streaming across that, that Internet, and what happens to your own personal Internet?

I just the other day got... an Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday, I got it yesterday (Tuesday).

Why? Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the Internet commercially.

...They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the Internet. And again, the Internet is not something that you just dump something on.

It's not a big truck.

It's a series of tubes.

And if you don't understand, those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and it's going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.

TechCrunch also recently announced the winners of The Crunchies 2007, an award ceremony for products that most deserved recognition from the industry.

The overall winner was Facebook, with Earthmine,Hulu and Zoho also winning categories.

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart on Ted Stephens:





Wired's take on Stephens.

"The Internet is a series of tubes. It is not a truck".

As Chris Morris would say, put that in your ears, last thing at night.

Peter Fincham to give 2008 MacTaggart lecture

Former BBC1 controller Peter Fincham will give this year’s MacTaggart Lecture at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.

You can register for the festival, with an Early Bird rate of £395.

In the past, Peter Fincham has been the managing director of talkback and CEO of talkbackThames.

The lecture will take place at 6:45pm on Friday 22nd August.

Peter Fincham said “Being invited to deliver the MacTaggart is like being asked to be a guest on Desert Island Discs – you don’t turn it down. It’s an enormous honour, as well as an opportunity to reflect on the enormous challenges facing the broadcasting industry in the digital age. I’m looking forward to it with relish.”

The MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival is a delegate entry event which attracts thousands of delegates from all areas of the industry.

It runs from 22nd-24th August.

My Milton Keynes Citizen online report for NUJ

Here is a piece I have written on the Milton Keynes Citizen dispute for the NUJ's website.

Citizen strike enters second week

By Richard Brennan

NUJ members at the Milton Keynes Citizen have resumed their strike today (28/01), with the current bout of action due to last until Wednesday.

The dispute centres on a below inflation pay offer and the chapel’s concerns about Johnston Press’ commitment to quality local journalism. Last week strike action took place from Monday until Wednesday, and future action is scheduled for Tuesday until Thursday next week.

Morale is high on the picket line, with local people wishing mother of chapel Karen Jeffry and her colleagues good luck. Messages of support are also pouring in from journalists across the country and local politicians have also been in touch with the chapel.

Karen Jeffery, Mother of Chapel at the Citizen, said: “Despite the cold weather, the mood is upbeat and cars have been tooting all day in support. We’re committed to providing quality local news to the people of Milton Keynes, and are taking a stand for journalists all over the country who aren’t getting the investment needed in their newsrooms.”

NUJ National Organiser, Barry Fitzpatrick, said, “Members of the chapel are furious about their treatment by the company. It’s incredible that Johnston Press is refusing to recognise the hard work of journalists in one of its most profitable centres.”

Rory Bremner Mccann sketch cleared by Ofcom

Some good news amidst reports of naughtiness in Parliment and a theft from the Manchester City dressing rooms.

Rory Bremner's sketch on Gordon Brown and Madeleine McCann has been cleared by Ofcom.

As I posted at the time of the 63 complaints, the sketch was meant to be mocking Gordon Brown, not the McCanns.

Ofcom said it considered Bremner, Bird and Fortune to be a long-established satirical series that often engaged with controversial subjects.

"The idea that politicians might be insensitive enough to attempt to exploit the tragedy surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann to their advantage was consistent with the general purpose of the sketch," Ofcom said in its report.

"Whilst perhaps painful for some viewers to have been reminded of Madeleine McCann's disappearance, we concluded the suggestion that politicians might consider cynically using such an event to their advantage justified the inclusion of such a reference in this satirical sketch."

The only people it would have been painful for would be the McCanns, and somehow I think they have much better things to do than ring up Ofcom over satire.

I should point out that Ofcom is an independent regulatory body responsible for broadcasting regulaltion in Britain.

If you want to complain about something to Ofcom, why not complain about the use of homophobia and lookist comments used by lazy comedians in their act?

People are happy to bore on about Manhunt 2 and its supposed power to corrupt minds, but fine when Franke Boyle laughs at gay people doing standup or on Mock The Week.

Then when children kill themselves over being bullied by people who watch hateful comedy, they tut and say "I blame violent video games/rap/single parents/the Left/Gordon Brown/the Right/eighteen years of the Conservatives/immigrants."

And all the time the incitement is right on the television in front of them.

Even Harry Hill's TV Burp is sliding downhill, with nasty comments about transvestites last week.

Do you know what I can't stand?

Intolerance?*


*Thanks to Rory Bremner for that one.

IgnoreAll cleans up Facebook

Sick of being bitten by zombies?

Tired of being asked to take part in online film quizzes?

Don't want to compare political views?

Well, as reported on Facereviews, Amit Agarwal at Digital Inspiration has linked a nifty website that allows you to do just that.

IgnoreAll was also mentioned on Readwriteweb, which linked to Amit

As Amit Agarwal says:

Go to www.ignoreall.com, bookmark the bookmarklet and click on it on your Facebook request page. It works like magic.

This simple Javascript removes only the Facebook Apps requests - if you have any pending friend requests or group invitations, they’ll stay unaffected.

Other Facereviews news:

You can also clean up your profile so it loads faster and people don't have to scroll down past Petrolhead and LOLcats (dread application) to post on your wall.

Why anyone would want pictures of cats with WordArt saying gibberish such as "Oh Hi, I help Wif Ur Shopping" is beyond me, but you can now keep up to twelve applications on your wall and pop the rest on an extended profile section.

I'd recommened keeping your wall, super wall, iLike and London Underground Status (if resident in London and not in possession of a hang glider) on the front page with other important applications, and moving Top Friends, Pirates and other tedious applications to the extended profile.

Article 19 urges Estonia not to charge Tallin protest organisers.

Human rights organisation Article 19 has urged an Estonian court not to charge four with incitement to riot.

Although the protests in Tallin left one person dead and 153 injured, Article 19 does not feel that incitement to riot has been proven.

It alleges that the Estonian authorities have failed to prove either that the defendants wanted to promote violence or that their statements caused the riots.

The riots took place last April over a statue called the Bronze Solider,after it was removed to a military cemetery.

While the authorities view the Bronze Solider as a symbol of occupation, many ethnic Russians treasure it as a memorial to their dead.

The defendants have been named as Dmitry Linter,Mark Siryik, Dmitry Klenski and Maksim Reva.

Three of these are members of "Night Watch" a group campaigning against the removal of the Bronze Solider to a military cemetery.

The fourth, Mark Siryik, leads Nashi, a youth group that is allied with Night Watch.

Journalism deaths in 2007

Today I am typing up a list of journalists killed in 2007.

The list will go in the next issue of the Journalist, sent out to all National Union of Journalists members.

I am working from a report compiled by the International Federation of Journalists, released last Friday.

Writing it up is a sobering task. 172 people died last year doing the career I have chosen .

Even single spaced separated by semi-colons (house style for the list) an entire side of A4 is filled.

Iraq was the most deadly country to work in, with 65 deaths occurring there.

It is shocking to scroll down an entire page of the IFJ list listing journalists killed in Iraq.

It's a testament to the courage of some journalists that they are prepared to report from danger zones around the world.

As Alan Johnston mentioned at Saturday's Campaign For Press and Broadcasting Freedom conference, many journalists are killed by "the drunk solider at a checkpoint" or by sniper fire.

However, some are silenced on the orders of brutal regimes.

Already this year, according to Reporters Sans Frontiers, two journalists have been killed.

Pushkar Bahadur Shrestha, publisher of the Highway Weekly and New Season was killed on the 12th January in Birgunj,Nepal.

Carsten Thomassen, a journalist on theDagbladet newspaper was killed on the 14th of January in Afghanistan.

One hundred and thirty one journalists and media assistants are imprisoned across the world.

I attended the Campaign For Press and Broadcasting Freedom conference this Saturday, and David Crouch claimed that only 2% of those who kill journalists are brought to justice.

You can see more details on some of the journalists murdered in 2007.

Many have been killed after harassment from governments or community leaders, such as Zakia Zaki of Peace Radio, shot seven times in her home this June.

No deaths have occured in the United Kingdom, despite a rise in gang violence and danger recently faced by Shelagh Fogerty in Liverpool.

Let us hope the British Government will put pressure on regimes around the world to make sure that 2008 is not as deadly for those in the media as 2007.

Amnesty International also runs campaigns for journalists captured or killed.

It is important for those who consume media to support the journalists who produce it.

You can write to the Prime Minister to ask him to do more to support journalists abroad, join Amnesty International or get involved in campaigns by the NUJ and IFJ.

David Lynch's Lost Highway

In between bursts of teeline shorthand and some article writing, I've spent the last two hours watching Lost Highway, directed by David Lynch.

The following comments may give details away about the film.

Watching a Lynch film is like being trapped inside the mind of a dreamer experiencing a nightmare.

Lynch's films are open to interpretation, and I like to believe that Fred Madison does change into perplexed Pete Dayton-for the reason that this unexplained happening is typical Lynch. It could happen (in someone's imagination) therefore it does.

We all remember the quiet terror that a nightmare brings, and Lost Highway has terror painted throughout the film.

The soulless Mystery Man, with his calm gaze and terrifying actions,is never explained, but I like to think of him as beyond this world, a figure doing what is right and enjoying himself.

A soundtrack of gripping and lovely music showcases the terror and confusion of David Lynch's characters, as they experience their lack of control.

Men are compromised and ugly, women are either timid or cool.

The theme throughout the film is a road seen from the POV of a car's headlights. This fits in with the unfinished chase at the end of the film through an almost empty desert.

I was first exposed to David Lynch's work when studying Mulholland Drive at A-Level, and Last Highway has the same tense atmosphere that sets David Lynch's films above other thrillers.

The DVD is from the Harrow Learning Resource Centre, and is offered in two cases.

The second case has a DVD with interviews on, which I do not presently have time to watch.

ID Cards for new drivers?

Does the Government really want to force those applying for a driving licence to get an ID card?

More drivers means more revenue for the Treasury.

Cynics might say the Government is doing quite well out of our gridlocked motorways and poor public transport.

Some drivers will be put off by the ID card, and will do without driving.

That means less money from MOT tests, fuel duty and (in London) less revenue for the congestion charge.

Does the Treasury really want less money to pay for the costly Olympics and public services?

Various forms of coercion, such as designation of the application process for identity documents issued by UK ministers (eg passports) are an option to stimulate applications in a manageable way.

The Government has also decided that students will need ID cards to access their loans.

Be aware that an ID card will cost you at least £100.

And given the plague of incompetance over data loss, do you trust the Government with the National Identity Register?

We know that millions of sensitive details will be lost.

We know that material of huge use to criminals will be sent in the post, stolen, mislaid, dropped in car parks, will fall off the back of lorries and will be sent by accident to radio talkshow hosts.

We know this because whatever the system, whatever the rules, from Tyne and Wear to Iowa City, they are operated by humans.

And people get bored, tired, drunk, have bad days, think they're about to be fired, are greedy and, in general, make mistakes.

The government is going to introduce a single system for all our identities. And I promise, you can't trust it.

First, it will leak like a battered old bucket.

Oh yes, there will be ministerial statements.

Apologies.

Inquiries.

Expensive new IT consultants will be brought in.

Tough and unbreakable procedures will arrive.

And still it will leak like a battered old bucket - except that it will be the most expensive battered old bucket in the history of the world, and we will keep pouring in money to the IT industry in the years to come.

Second, it will be riddled with errors.

Great-grannies will be jumped on by armed police at Newcastle airport because of an administrative or human error.

Identities will be confused.

And third, whatever promises there are about keeping some things, health things, or criminal record things, off one database, these walls will be breached. There is always an emergency, a special case, on the way.

This is a fantasy of control.

Whatever Des Browne says today, whatever promises he makes, however rare and unusual he says the loss of this laptop was, the truth is in the record.

The national identity register will make us less safe, not more so. However late the hour, it should be scrapped.

Bille Cohen documentes commutes

An idea from the New York Times.

Each day Billie Cohen writes about a different commute within New York City for the Real Estate section.

Why can't London Lite or thelondonpaper do this? Or the Evening Standard?

The columns would break down boundaries between commuters on various lines, for example those who squash up on the Central Line but have never experienced my present commute on the Metropolitan Line or the hunt for a fast train to Uxbridge.

A feature on driving in London would also show the effect of the Congestion Charge.

Or a couple of features on London's nightbuses, for the more intrepid journo.

The second page of the New York Times link lists the articles written so far. After a few clicks, you'll need to pay, so select well.

Guardian Guide To Making Video

Excellent supplement with today's Guardian.

A guide to the world of video making, divided into "gear guide" or how a camcorder works, technique, workshops, editing, advice, making films and getting the film seen.

Some good features at the beginning by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz)on amateur film making and Jemimia Kiss (Guardian journalist) on YouTube.

You can order copies by calling (0870) 836 0924 or see it online (thanks to Andy Dickinson's blog for that).

The website link seems to go to Reader's Offers instead.

Extra copies cost £3.50, and in this case, it's well worth it.

Particularly useful pages:

The most useful features for me were on related software.

I now have an easy-to-follow guide to Adobe Premiere Elements 4, iMovie, and iLife.

Although I have not used these applications, I am confident I would be able to from scratch using the instructions given.

Excellent supplement.

Round of applause for the Guardian.

Thoughts on Dennis Kucinich

Today I attended the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom conference "New Threats To Media Freedom-how we fight back".

Speakers included Alan Johnston, David Crouch (Media Workers Against War) and Heather Brooke.

I don't want to go into too much detail as I am writing an article on this for the Journalist magazine.

However, the wonderful Victoria Brittain reminded me that Dennis Kucinich has dropped out of the 2008 election race to focus on his re-election to Congress.

Would he have won? Very unlikely, but given the verbal wrestling match between Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, Dennis Kucinich may have done better than in Iowa and New Hampshire.

You can compare Kucinich with Edwards, Obama and Clinton at VoteGopher.

Kucinich supports universal healthcare, smaller class sizes, abolishing the deaht penalty, same-sex marrige, support for a woman's right to choose and a higher minimum wage.

What a difference those policies could make in a country blighted by Republican policies and a bickering Democratic Party.

Comments from Michael Shelby, an independent election integrity activist.

Congressman Kucinich said, “The most decisive moment in my life came when I was living in a car in the inner city and I thought about all the dreams I could have as a child and I decided at an early age that I was gonna be someone. And, I’ve had a lot of help along the way to get to this stage. But I can tell you, as President, the American people would have someone who remembers where he came from and has the compassion in his heart to lift up everyone to make sure everyone has a chance, thank you.”

If you had no other reason to vote for Dennis Kucinich for President of the United States, just meditate on that singular, human, compassionate, hope-filled, and uplifting answer for a while.

Youtube: Tina Turner: When The Heartache Is Over

Tina Turner is a brilliant singer.

I remember using shadow writing to write the lyrics of "Simply The Best" in teeline shorthand.

Tonight, I found this song on Youtube while browsing jobs on Jobs4Journalists.



It's so true that the ones who mess us around, confuse us and never ask straight out how we feel aren't worth worrying about.

Demonstration against President Musharraf

Tommorow Amnesty International is organising a demonstration against the Pakistan president.

The demonstration starts at noon and takes place outside Downing Street.

Amnesty International are organising the event with the Society of Asian Lawyers and the Solicitors’ International Human Rights Group.

It will finish around 2pm.

Musharraf has arrived in Britain and will meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday.

Amnesty International statement and a comdemnation of Musharraf.

Amnesty International is urging the Government of Pakistan to:

end arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, and ill-treatment, politically-motivated criminal prosecutions, civil proceedings against or harassment of politicians, human rights defenders, journalists and media workers, and other members of civil society.

stop the use of "blind First Information Reports" - police complaints in which the suspect is unidentified - a practice which allows the government to harass and detain political opponents.

restore the independence of the judiciary by returning to service all judges removed during emergency rule.

respect the right to freedom of expression and information, and the right to peaceful assembly. At rallies or other mass gatherings law enforcement officials must comply with international standards, and in particular should not use force.

unless strictly necessary and only to the minimum extent required
conduct full and independent investigations into political assassinations, including that of Benazir Bhutto, and other unlawful killings and suicide attacks, and make public the findings.

TypeIt.org

A great site for those who want to use accented letters is TypeIt.org.

No more fiddling about with Character Map (Start, Program, Accesories, System Tools.

Simply click on the language you want and select a letter from the top menu.

It would be nice if indivdual letters could be selected when more than one letter is entered, but that's a minor point.

Improving London's Transport

I've been thinking a lot about transport lately as I've been communting from Northwick Park to King's Cross via the Metropolitan line.

A benign if lazy line out of rush hour (when I used to travel), during rush hour it becomes a chaotic mess to people scrambling on from King's Cross to Wembley Park.

Which is a long way without a seat.

One idea to reduce congestion and irratibility on the Underground would be for passengers to be informed which side of the train they should alight from.

This may be simple if you have used a certain line for months, but people may spend three months going up and down the Central Line, for example, and then need to use the Northern Line.

During rush hour crowds, it's really annoying to spend half an hour crushed against the doors of one side of the carrige, only to find out you need to wriggle to the other.

A simple annoucement after "The next station is..." would help.

It would also be an idea to get rid of semi-fast and fast trains on the Metropolitan line.

No other Underground line has them.

I understand that for people in Watford or Amersham, it may take slightly longer to get home.

Yet some stations, such as Hillingdon, do not display whether a train is "all stations", semi-fast or fast.

More than once I've been on a night out in London, travelled home on my own because the other was on another line, and ended up passing Northwick Park station.

It's interesting how the train empties when it stops at Wembley Park.

If stations must be missed out, then ones that are served by other lines (Finchely Road, Wembley Park) should be on the list. Not Preston Road or Northwick Park.

Transport for London should also realise that there is no point asking people to take their litter home over the tannoy.

The sort of people who litter will just ignore the announcement and carry on spreading their wrappers across the carridge.

Or their Metros.

I'd finally to make a specfic point about Northwick Park station.

A electronic display shows the times of tubes coming from Uxbridge or Watford but not tubes from Zone 1.

Why isn't this possible? Are there too many delays?

London's transport network needs sorting out.

NUJ Training course

Today I have taken part in the NUJ Officers Stage 1 course.

Naturally I can't go into detail, but it was very useful. I will complete the course tomorrow and receive an accreditation.

My Pakistan report for NUJ

Here is my report on Pakistan and Geo News on the NUJ site.

Union backs IFJ on Pakistan

By Richard Brennan

The NUJ today (22/1) joined the IFJ in welcoming the resumption of Geo News broadcasts in Pakistan after a 78-day closure forced by the Pakistan president but warned that there must be a complete end to media oppression in the country.

Following the declaration of emergency rule in Pakistan last year, the government introduced censorship banning international broadcasters, and closed independent media outlets. The rules prohibited media from broadcasting or publishing statements ridiculing the President or top government officials and the military.

NUJ General Secretary, Jeremy Dear said “President Musharraf must end the climate of fear and oppression that journalists in Pakistan have endured.” He praised the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) for its backing of Geo staff and management in fighting the closure.

Both the NUJ and IFJ hope that the resumption is not dependent on any editorial interference. The unions are also disappointed that the ban’s lifting was on the condition that certain news shows were not broadcast.

Geo News is part of the Geo TV network and was suspended from broadcasting on 3 November 2007.

Other channels had also been suspended in Pakistan, including ARY One World, which was allowed back online after signing an ordinance that bans it from presenting any arguments against the government.

The NUJ also welcomed President Pervez Musharraf’s meeting with IFJ General Secretary Aidan White, and a new dialogue between the Pakistan government and media. Jeremy Dear said “The Pakistan Government still has more to do to ensure the freedom of the media in the country.”

Data losses so far this year

So far we are 23 days into the new year.

In this timne, the following data losses have taken place:

9th: Kingston Hospital test results found in a bag nearby.

11th: Oldham Primary Care Trust loses information relating to 148 patients.

18th:Documents from the DWP were found on a roundabout in Devon. TNT was once again involved.

18th: MoD laptop with details of 600,000 people stolen.

23rd: Court case CD's lost. The Daily Mail allege around 55 people are involved.

So in less than a month, there have been five losses of data.

I'm not including 2007 data losses reported this year.

It's also happened in Sweden.

Will this trend of losing data continue over the year?

Why is TNT still being used by the Government?

Given an election will probably take place in either spring or autumn 2009, why isn't Gordon Brown flexing his muscles and sorting things out?

Instead we are stonewalled with comments totalling "ooh, we are trying to do something about it."

Last year I likened Gordon Brown to James Callaghan in 1979, Uncle Jimmy without the trade union background.

I think Gordon Brown might be more similar to John Major after 1992.

Out of his depth, disliked by the last prime minister and facing a stronger opponent that before.

2008 should be the year of "Get flexing, Gordon" when Gordon Brown starts to act like a prime minister and not a temping chancellor.

Police march due today

Police officers will be rallying in London today.

Around 18,000 police officers are expected to protest over a backdated pay rise.

There will be a rally in Westminster, followed by Police Federation chair Jan Berry presenting a petition to Downing Street and meeting Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

Groups such as Class War plan to disrupt the event.

Sorry this has been copied but it is important information for those who want to ensure that the law is complied with by these demonstrators.

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TUC general secretary Brendan Barber has sent a letter of support.

Home Office comment:

The Police Minister, Tony McNulty, said instead of marching, the officers should be talking to the government.

"During the course of 2007-8, only junior doctors and the military got more than the 1.9%. It's been a tough round of public pay settlements.

"My message would be - as the home secretary has said - let's sit down now and look forward."

Map of the route.

Facebook carrot panic buying group has over 50,000 members

Yesterday, I looked at the panic buying group and it has 44,000 members.

Today, it has 55,252.

A spinoff group called I'm going to the carrot fest on the 18th?=] has been launched, with 71 members.

Carrot Panic Buyers have Website:

A website has been launched and you can buy t-shirts.

There is also a countdown until the buying takes place.

The site is ad-heavy, but has an impressive news feed.

Against the carrot panic buying:

A Facebook group opposing the carrot panic buying has been set up, and has 3 members.

My work at NUJ today

Today I completed my feature on Campaigns and Communications Officer Stephen Pearse (266 words) and submitted it.

I also completed a story for the NUJ website on Geo News, a Pakistan channel prevented from broadcasting from 3rd November 2007 until Saturday 19th January by President Pervez Musharraf.

Writing for the NUJ web site is of course different from writing for the Journalist. Different styles must be followed.

For example, dates are written "3 November 2007", not "3rd November 2007".

I am currently working on a story about Knol.

Developed by Google, Knol is an online encyclopedia that will rival Wikipedia.

I am also waiting for the CPJ and RSF to get back to me for a story on journalists murdered in 2007.

Finally, I will be using the ISF 2007 figures, as soon as they are released, to compile a list of journalists killed in 2007.

New Amnesty International report on Darfur

Amnesty International are ensuring the Darfur conflict is not forgotten.

Background:
The conflict began in 2003 after accusations by rebels of black Africans being oppressed.

The government admits using "self-defense militas" to respond but denies being involved with the Janjaweed.

Millions have been displaced by the violence.

7,000 African Union troops are deployed in Darfur on a limited mandate, but are very scattered.

New report:

A new report has been published, which gives details of the dangers of rape inside the camps and the problems of forced return.

Child soliders are also recruited by various groups.

'The presence of weapons in the camps has worsened an already volatile security situation for everyone,' said Hondora.

'In some IDP camps, a revolver can be bought for only US $25 - leading to widespread incidents of robbery and assault.

In this charged atmosphere of anger, fear, insecurity and political disagreements, quarrels often turn tragic.

Amnesty International called on the UN forces in Darfur (UNAMID) to ensure the protection of the internally displaced, including by stationing units near each camp and by constant patrolling - including accompanying people collecting firewood.

A report by Mike Thompson in December shows how conditions for both refugees and aid workers have worsened.

Fatma Issa Mohammed Drama, a mother with six children at El Salam camp near El Fasher told me: "After dark it isn't safe to leave your place. You must keep out of sight. We live in fear.

People wander this camp at night with guns, often army people, and if they come across you, you could be killed."

Those leaving the camp to fetch water or firewood face being attacked and men with guns roam many of the settlements at night.

Robberies, car-jackings and rapes occur almost daily, sometimes in the centre of Darfur's main towns.

Questions answered by Darfur survivors.

Amnesty also has a petition. There is also a shop where you can purchase items to support Amnesty International's causes.

Court Reporting Tips

One of my collegues has been reporting from the Old Bailey.

He has posted some tips on his blog about court reporting, which I thought readers of this blog might like.

I have reported from Harrow Magistrates Court and Harrow Crown Court, and have attended Swindon Mafistrates Court with another reporter in 2006.

Court reporting is a special skill, and shorthand is extremly useful.

It is also important to get the names of all those in the story, including the judge, and to know some details of the case beforehand.

Once I was only aware of the time and details of a case, but not the names of the defendents, which puzzled the security guard.

Nicolas Sarkozy must not neuter France 24

British people are often accused of being uninterested in international news.

The common sterotype is of the beer-swilling close-cropped John Bull in the pub, reading out the Sun to giggles from his mates.

Nicolas Sarkozy's proposals will increase the truth of this stereotype.

He plans to replace France 24 with France Monde, which will broadcast only in French.

The journalists union in France is furious, as is the NUJ, which commented on the situation at last Friday's ADM.

Currently, France 24 broadcasts in English, Arabic and French. Spanish and Manderin services were planned.

I have France 24 in my Google Reader, and I have learnt a lot from this service.

Today alone, I can read that Junior Urban Affairs Minister Fadela Amara is set to annouce a new plan for the banlieues, while President Pervez Musharraf has arrived in Paris to meet the President.

Even though newspapers such as the Independent do report from France, I feel that France 24 is far more detailed, and has good regional coverage.

And now the President has denied me this.

I can't speak French, so will be unable to follow France Monde.

Sarkozy does not wish to use French taxpayers' money to fund an English language service.

Yet surely it is worth breaking down barriers and revealing more of France.

Maybe the EU should subsidise the English language service, or ask for donations from English speakers who want to learn more about France.

I'll contribute a few pounds if the latter ever comes into effect.

Have you read anywhere else about the death of France's oldest man,Louis de Cazenave, or the warnings of Fatiha Mejjati about a terrorist attack?

Annoyingly, the site is having problems, so I can only link to the Musharraf story.

The ignorance of a tiny minority of British people will be reinforced if France 24 shuts down.

Hopefully Gordon Brown will realise this and will try and persuade Sarkozy of his folly.

It should be noted that Bernard Kouchner, the Foreign Minister, partly disagrees and wants subtitles to be placed on the French broadcasts.

Yet some people listen to the sound of television while reading or talking, and this will put them off.

Does this mean that Bernard Kouchner wants to keep the English internet service for France 24?

One commentator on MediaNetwork agrees with Sarkozy's proposal, saying.

Why do the Brits always expect us to use their language?

Its high time we turned the trend around.

Now it’s time for you guys to use ours.

If you don’t speak French, then learn it, for heaven’s sake!!!

Few will learn French just to watch France 24.

It is sad that not many British speak foreign languages, but it's not worth removing the only source of French news many British, Americans and other English speakers have just to encourage more to learn French.

Johnathan Marks agrees.

France 24 was launched by Jacques Chirac, someone Sarkozy dislikes.

Last week, Chirac, who is 74 and has been in office for 12 years, said that he had not ruled out running for a third term as an independent, even though he enjoys little support from his own electorate. He did not appear at Sarkozy's nomination.

The president has never forgiven Sarkozy's decision to support a rival, Edouard Balladur, in the 1995 residential election.

Now I must rely on friends from France, The Independent and international news websites such as Der Spiegel for French news.

I don't have time to study French past GCSE level, so France Monde will be no good to me.

Quite an ironic name "France Monde", given that it is more exclusive than France Vingt-Quatre.

Press Gazette link

Happy to say my report was linked in a Press Gazette blog.

NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear joined the picket line at the Milton Keynes Citizen as staff went on strike today.

He joined national organiser Barry Fitzpatrick and NUJ president Michelle Stanistreet outside the Johnston Press paper this morning.

Dear quotes Richard Brennan, a journalism student doing work experience with the union, who gives a personal account of his first strike.

.

Thanks to Patrick Smith for that link.

Jesus statue taken hostage over "poopie problem"

Michigan resident Jean Mansel has had her Jesus statue returned after an earlier abduction.

A note attached alleged she did not clean up properly after her dog.

We are holding Jesus ransom until you clean up the poopie from your wieners and trust us we see you take your wieners for long walks w/out picking up their poopie in our yards.

Mansel now claims a family member is responsible.

Milton Keynes Citizen dispute

Today I've been in the field.

I travelled to Milton Keynes in order to cover a strike by the Milton Keynes Citizen's NUJ chapel.

Despite the best efforts of Britain's rail system, I managed to get to Auckland Park in Bletchley by 8:30am, leaving from Kenton station at 7.

Bounding across the road, I was greeted by a picket line of twelve people, which grew to eighteen by eleven am.

The line included General Secretary Jeremy Dear and National Newspapers Organiser Barry Fitzpatrick.

Later on, NUJ President Michelle Stanistreet arrived.

After introductions, I was able to talk to several of the chapel about the strike while passing cars and postal lorries hooted in support.

I was told about the failure to replace staff who left the paper, as well as the 3% pay offer, which the staff claim is an effective pay cut.

We also discussed journalism openings and were filmed by BBC Look East.

I then took some photos before being given a lift to the Xscape, a bizarre carbuncle of leisure.

There, I filed my story from a well-hidden Internet cafe and returned by train to the NUJ offices, to attend a Campaign For Press and Broadcasting Freedom meeting.

You can see my report on Jeremy Dear's blog, as well as a picture of me (I'm the one in the black coat without headgear, near the middle).

I was told that usually it is best to get comments from the mother or father of the chapel, as they are the spokesperson.

I also feel my last line brought too much opinion into the story, and I should have chosen to end it differently.

Incidentaly, a worker from one of the nearby office blocks, wearing a grey shirt and tie, decided to abuse one of my NUJ collegues because he though he had leant on his (silver) car.

Banging on the window and the coming down to swear at us, the angry little man ignored the fact none of us had touched his car.

Gaza City loses power

The only power plant in the Gaza Strip has run out of fuel.

Arye Mekel, Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson, blamed the rocket attacks, which have caused Israel to shut its borders.

"If they stop the rockets today, everything would go back to normal," he said.

More than 200 rockets and mortars have hit Israel from Gaza since an Israeli operation against militants on Tuesday which left 18 Palestinians dead, the military says.

Further hardship has now come to the civilians of Gaza.

"We have just shut down the entire power plant," Derar Abu Sissi, a senior official at the Gaza plant, said on Sunday night.

"At least 800,000 people are now in darkness. The catastrophe will affect hospitals, medical clinics, water wells, houses, factories, all aspects of life."

The UN is also extremly concerned.

Power losses are not the only problem in Gaza.

Hospitals are reporting a lack of drugs and parts for medical equipment.

The price of chocolate, cigarettes and Coke has doubled, even trebled, because of the shortages.

How the civilans of Gaza are expected to put pressure on rocket-toting militants is not explained.

As always, it is the weakest who suffer first. God help the people of Gaza.

Terrorism and other violent crimes

Whenever I heard a government minister talking about cracking down on terrorism, I wonder why this approach is not used for violent crime.

Death by gunfire is as deadly as death by dirty bomb, the only difference is it kills more people.

However, you could argue that the gunman is likely to kill as many people throughout his life as the suicide bomber does once.

So, if we can agree that all forms of murder should be stamped on, why does no-one call for 42 days detention for common or garden murder suspects?

Is it because terrorism is perceived to be less common, while murder can be seen as the crime of the Everyman?

Is it because terrorism is only depicted in Hollywood action films, while murder is on Hollyoaks and Heartbeat and Corrie?

There is a law against glorifying terrorism, why is there no law against glorifying murder?

A Brighton gang remain free after officers were unable to charge them with any crime, despite the pictures being shown in the Metro.

Yet three men who incited terror via the Internet were charged with glorification of terrorism.

Many people reading this will think I have gone crazy, but I feel that the resources used to fight terrorism should have been matched for violent crime offences.

Instead, violent criminals are bailed, and the Home Secretary does not feel safe walking in London after dark.

I doubt many Londoners do either.

If police salaries were increased, less officers would want to leave the force and we'd have more people to tackle the rash of teenage shootings.

I watched a Select Committee report with Police Federation chair Jan Berry as part of Reporting Week.

I am considering posting the story I wrote as a result.

Berry identified police pay as the current major problem, and said that officers were leaving for overseas forces with better pay.

Call me Mr Cynical and buy me a tin foil hat, but sometimes I feel the Government only care about terrorism because it enables them to restrict the right to protest.

If they do care about our safety though, let's see them take more action to help police solve the less sexy kinds of murders.

They don't flash up at the top of every news broadcast for days on end.

You can't stand on rubble with a megaphone and a fireman.

But the people killed by knives and guns are as important as the ones killed by bombs.

So I'm going to call Gordon Brown's bluff.

Although I won't support 42 days detention, I will concede your heart is in the right place if you show your committal to violent crime reduction by the following.

1. Treat emergency workers properly. Agree to the police pay rise. I don't know many people wanting to do a job that's both dangerous and badly paid. Perhaps the pay rise does not go far enough.

2. Get rid of targets. Policing isn't about number crunching, otherwise you'd need a Further Maths degree to walk the beat.

3. Sort out complaints about the uniform. Consider giving female police officers helmets instead of the bizarre caps they wear at the moment.

My own experience of police trousers is that no matter what size I wear, my shirt un-tucks itself throughout the day and as soon as I start to run, my kit belt wobbles about and I have to hold it still with one hand if I don't want to arrive at the scene of the baddie to find my handcuffs somewhere in the small of my back where I can't reach them.

4. Increase the number of civilian staff handling paperwork. Reduce the amount of paperwork wherever possible. Look into the use of online forms (quicker).

"It depends on the nature of the offence of course, but you arrest somebody and it'll take you the rest of the shift - say eight to 10 hours - to deal with that if it's even remotely complicated."

from an interview with the author of The Policeman's Blog.

5. Less life sentences that always mean life.

That is, if someone has committed a crime that makes him a danger to the public for years to come, only then give him life.

Otherwise people will regard life sentences as something ending after eight years.

Life sentences should only be used for the most serious of crimes.

I'm not blind to the dark side of the police-especially as I've got Michael Gillard and Laurie Flynn's Untouchables sitting on my scuffed desk.

Yet the fact that a small minority of police have abused their power does not mean we should undervalue the service.

Then the Home Secretary might feel safe in London after dark.

John Rentoul's comments.

Brand America 2008

Der Spiegel carried a nice story on Friday about 2008 election memorabilia.

Other sites are devoted entirely to selling toilet bowl brushes and nutcrackers crafted in the likeness of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Indeed, at cafepress.com, Clinton seems to be generating the most online commerce.

Almost half a million products bear her likeness, while 333,000 feature Obama, and 60,000 promote Republican candidate John McCain.

These include tank tops, mugs (one with "Hunters for Huckabee", bumper stickers and tracksuits.

Maybe we should do this in the UK.

How about a Gordon Brown novelty pencil sharper or a David Cameron bath mat?

You could start the day in Nick Clegg pajamas, come down to breakfast in your Hazel Blears slippers, and have a bowl of Golden Gordons (prudently shaped of course).

Taking the bus to work, you might glare at the man listening to David Cameron's speeches too loudly, before getting out your Alistair Darling ear muffs-the fluffy bits are made with his eyebrow hair.

And why not impress your children by turning up at school with an "I Love David Cameron" tracksuit and matching policy briefcase?

Youtube:Harry Hill on Shergar

Hilarious clip from Harry Hill's TV Burp on a documentary on the Shergar horsenapping.

The 8:55 to Baghdad: Travel writing at its best

Agatha Christie journeyed from London to Baghdad on the Orient Express in 1928.

Hearing of this fact in Syria, Andrew Eames decides to discover more in The 8:55 to Baghdad.

Charity shops are often good for cheap books, and for £1 I managed to obtain this awesome and funny tome.

The book flits between Eames and Christie, telling the reader wonderful details about the places Eames visits and intriguing tit-bits about Agatha Christie's life.

Christie's domestic life is well documented, as are her experiences traveling.

In fact, Eames seems knowledgeable enough to write a full biography of Agatha Christie, being well acquainted

He meets with her acquaintances, such as Slovenian journalist Janez Čuček, who interviewed her in Bohinj back in 1928.

Eames also discovers plenty about the country he visits.

He paints a vivid portrait of Serbia-one of many places I have never been, but would love to someday visit.

Clearly well versed in history, Eames spends several pages explaining the Balklands War before documenting his experiences in Belgrade and Zagreb, including the alleged ease that men have getting sex in Serbia (not the reason I've included it in my list of places to visit!).

The latter part of the book sees Eames visiting Baghdad, at a time when the second Iraq War was looming "Daily reports of exchange of fire in no-fly zones".

Ironically, Iraq was controlled by the British in 1928.

Despite an interrogation at Baghdad railway station, Eames manages to safely leave Baghdad for Ur, where Agatha Christie met her future husband Max Mallowan.

After flying back to Britain from Damascus, Andrew Eames ruminates on the fate of the people of Iraq after the 2003 invasion "that decent, generous and upright people."

Eames' "warts and all" accounts of his fellow travelers, his love of the places he visits and his gentle interviews with those he meets make The 8:55 to Baghdad a must.


Andrew Eames' comments on his book.

Journalism in Kenya

Narobi's Standard reports on the difficulties faced by journalists in Kenya.

In Kibera, paramilitary police officers threw a teargas cannister to drive photographers away from an attempted arrest.

Medianetwork also has a transcript of a Standard story covering the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation radio, which has been forced to suspend transmission.

Yesterday, the area regional controller of programmes, Mr Ntenga Arori, said that the station had suffered acts of arson, looting and damage to its equipment, forcing them to switch off radio broadcasting.

Consequently, communities in western Kenya have been denied medium wave radio programmes in Gusii, Luo, Kalenjin, Luhya, Teso, Kuria, Suba and Pokot languages

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It seems Kenyan police are keen to disrupt the media, given accusations they are killing unarmed protesters.

Indeed, the police paramilitary units are often known by Kenyans as Fanya Fujo Uone, meaning ""Mess around and see what we will do to you".

Report from a BBC News reporter on police actions in Narobi.

Some were armed with semi-automatic weapons. During the day we heard live rounds being fired in civilian areas, and captured some of the shooting on film.

The authorities say they were enforcing the law. The opposition says seven innocent civilians were shot dead.

"The government and the police have turned this country into killing fields of the innocent," said opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Benzair Bhutto suspect arrested

A fifteen-year old was arrested by security officials this Thursday for the murder of Benzair Bhutto.

Aitezaz Shah told investigators that he was one of five suicide bombers sent by pro-Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud to carry out the murder.

He was detained, along with his alleged handler, in Dera Ismail Khan.

Shah said that two of the attackers, Akram and Bilal, were to target Bhutto first. If they failed the other three were to carry out the operation.

He said Bilal killed Bhutto by shooting her and detonating an explosive vest as she was leaving an election campaign rally on December 27.

This will come as a relief to Pakistan's government, as Aitezaz Shah's comments support their theory that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda were responsible.

The CIA also support this claim.

Meanwhile in Pakistan, five men have been arrested for planning to attack Shia processions in Karachi.

Facebook Carrot Panic Buying Group Popular

Yesterday I blogged the group "On May 15th 2008, everybody needs to go out and panic buy CARROTS." and mentioned it had over 18,000 members.

Today, I see it has 24,323.

Eight of my friends on Facebook have now joined it.

One invited me, which was nice, but I have no desire to spend my dwindling cash on excess carrots.

Instead, I'll stick to nights out, the Tube, food and David Bowie CD's as reasons for my cash to flow.

Some people are losing morale already, the Captain Blackadders of the carrot fight.

I worked (briefly) in Sainsburys over Christmas - we were running out of carrots nearly every day!

Supermarkets aim to have barely enough short-shelf-life stock on the shelves to keep the customers happy - there's no point in having a week's supply of carrots on the shop floor if they'll all go mouldy in three days.

There are some very random photos uploaded.

What the blue Boobar and carrots have in common I do not know.

Tony Parsons Update

The Daily Mirror's response to PCC complaints about Tony Parson's 29th October article on Madeleine McCann and the Portuguese Ambassador:

Further to our article of October 29 "Oh, up yours, Senor" by Tony Parsons, we are happy to make clear that whilst the contrary impression was given by the comments of the Portuguese Ambassador to the Times on October 27 we can confirm that the Ambassador Antonio Santana Carlos did not, and has not, said that the Madeleine McCann case has seriously damaged relations between Portugal and this country.

Original Article, transcribed by a blogger from the Daily Mirror site in Portuguese and English.

From the article:

And I would respectfully suggest that in future, if you can't say something constructive about the disappearance of little Madeleine, then you just keep your stupid, sardine-munching mouth shut."

What a tool Tony Parsons is.

I cannot find the article on the Daily Mirror site!

Given that it got 485 complaints, not really shocking.

The next highest was
Heat magazine's questionable sticker of Jordan's child Harvey, with 143 complaints, including one from Jordan/Katie Price.

Richard Littlejohn's Reviews.

Richard Littlejohn is a columnist for the Sun and Daily Mail.

He's not someone whose views I agree with.

If he ever stood for political office, he'd be the worst candidate since Caligula's horse.

When five women were murdered in Ipswich,
Littlejohn got stuck in.

They weren't going to discover a cure for cancer or embark on missionary work in Darfur.

The only kind of missionary position they undertook was in the back seat of a car.

Anyway, last year he wrote a book called Littlejohn's Britain.

That book, which had Littlejohn straddling the British Isles (though not in THAT way) was not his first foray into literature.

In 2001, he wrote the bizarre To Hell In A Handcart, which I bought from Whsmiths for 90p that same year when I was more naive.

Back then I didn't know who Richard Littlejohn was, though I should have.

To Hell In A Handcart was a Daily Mail reader's wet dream about left-wing police officers teaming up with criminal asylum seekers to burgle the homes of right-wing police officers, and includes an account of someone receiving oral sex while in a traffic jam.

Not hard to see why it was on sale for 90p

I did have a quick look at Littlejohn's Britain in Gayton Library, and couldn't stomach the upbeat "I LOVE whinging" tone.

Anyway, some of the reviwes on Amazon are quite funny:

Funny-tragic:

Anyone with an ounce of wit can see what the Blair years have done to the UK and LJ rightly goes for the throat in a devastating book which is funny and angering at the same time.

As can been seen in some the previous reviews the loony Liberals dont like what they are reading because it is so true and let fly with the usual accusations of bigotry etc blah blah blah, we have heard it all before.

Congratulations to Richard for standing up to the facist left and sticking it to them.

I have just returned from a holiday abroad where I read this book in 2 days and immediately passed on to my wife who also read it in 2 days.

After discussions relating to the contents we decided that Mr Blairs legacy was no longer for us and we promptly bought a property.

We are at present finalising our plans to get out of Britain for good!

Thanks again Richard. This book is the perfect manual for anyone having any doubts about finally calling it a day in our once, green and pleasant land.

Funny-parodic

If you think philosophy can no longer speak to you, buy this book.

If you are lost and crying in the wilderness, buy this book.

If your table has a wonky leg and needs propping up, buy this book.

Littlejohn approaches this work with an almost Ruskinian ardour, the characters painted with such lifelong aplomb.

"Wot the 'ell's the use of the likes of us troublin' our 'eads about politics. I've a bleedin' wheelie bin full o' rats that 'elf 'n' safety won't let the immigrant binmen empty 'cos it's against their religion."

In two brush strokes and a bottle of correction fluid, we can almost smell it.

With a cry of 'Christmas is cancelled', hope is shattered into a thousand pieces at our feet.
But fear not. Our hero is celebrating Diwali with sprouts, turkey and pagan symbolism.

There's no fairy atop Littlejohn's tree.

Funny-hits the nail on the head:

If you feel the urge to read this book may I recommend taking up smoking instead.

You'll still be anti-social but at least you'll die more quickly. Thanks.

Reading this was like bathing in vomit.

Warm vomit, mind you: I wouldn't want to suggest he was aloof or condescending or anything like that.

Fairtrade Fortnight Countdown

The Fairtrade Foundation will launch Fairtrade Fortnight in five weeks.

It will start with a Fairtrade Fairground in Coin Street, Southbank on the 24th February, from 11am-4pm.

A Fairtrade Bus will be touring the country while children can get involved with the Fairtrade Schools scheme, which has five goals.

A petition has also been set up online to stop the Economic Partnership Agreements.

Article 19: Philippines Media Threats

The Philippines Government could interfere with media freedoms, according to Article 19.

A new media advisory by the Philippines Department of Justice warns media workers to obey "lawful orders" during emergencies.

Article 19 notes that this can only be seen as a threat, as everyone must obey the law, so no other advisory is needed.

“We reiterate our call for the Philippines to honour its constitutional and international obligations to respect freedom of expression, in particular by amending emergency legal powers and by ceasing practices, such as mass arrests, which exert a chilling effect on the media,” said Dr Agnès Callamard, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19.

Information on journalism and access to information in the Philippines, as well as the dangers.

Aquiles Zonio, correspondent of the 'Philippine Daily Inquirer' in General Santos City, was the most recent recipient of a death threat through his mobile phone.

Zonio received a text message shortly before noon last Saturday, warning him he would be 'the next to fall'. The note ended with 'adios' (goodbye).

'The threat on Zonio's life is particularly disturbing in the wake of the murder of his colleague, reporter Jonathan Abayon, the second journalist murdered in General Santos City within the year. The suspect is still at large,' the NUJP said in a statement

Article 19:

The Philippine media has been faced with attacks and threats in various forms in recent years.

In 2007, the Government issued a number of repressive regulations, including the Human Security Act that provides for the wiretapping of journalists and Executive Order 608 that restricts the media and public from accessing government information.

Other serious freedom of expression problems include the rampant abuse of defamation laws, including criminal defamation, and the culture of impunity which surrounds the large number of attacks on journalists.

NUJ work experience: NEC meeting

I've been a busy bee, albeit one with a union card.

Today I attended part of a meeting of the NUJ's National Executive Committee.

I also managed to complete my story on Conrad Quilty-Harper, and submit it with a jpg to Tim Gospill.

Yesterday I interviewed Campaigns and Communications officer Steve Pearse, who also gave helpful advice for student journalists.

This morning I wrote the first 150 words of that story up.

I am also writing a story about the discrepancy between figures for journalists killed in 2007.

I've contacted several organisations, but some are taking their time.

On Monday, I will be reporting from the field (Milton Keynes).

I am covering a strike at the Milton Keynes Citizen, and will have to use this "London Overground" service, which seems very new.

NUJ Meeting:

Increasing membership was one of the items on the agenda.

One way to increase membership would be to go through all the journalism-related Facebook groups and message anyone in a UK network.

Some (but nowhere near all) can be seen amongst my groups.

Other matters for discussions included the Milton Keynes Citizen Strike, the integration of the Irish Times with irelandonline.com, and a pay negotiation at the Morning Star.

Although I only stayed until 5:30, leaving just after the beautiful purple sunset gave way to a dark blue night, my head was buzzing with industry news!

Strange Facebook Groups

Five of my friends have joined the group:

On May 15th 2008, everybody needs to go out and panic buy CARROTS.

Basically, a few nights ago, when I was very very drunk, I came up with the idea that everybody should go out and panic buy a certain product on a specific day.

I'm not quite sure what the reason behind this is is, other than the fact that a global shortage of carrots would be quite a laugh.

So, what I'm asking everybody to do, is on the 15th May, 2008 go out and buy a load of carrots. IF EVERYBODY DOES THIS, WE CAN MAKE THIS GLOBAL SHORTAGE OF CARROTS HAPPEN!

So far the group has over 18,000 members.

How many people are needed to panic buy I have no idea.

Assuming each person could carry two shopping bags/canvass bags full of carrots, it would take dozens to empty one supermarket.

What will be done with the carrots?

My aunt said that on the 16th they should be randomly (I hate that word) placed on different modes of public transport/at the cinema/in cafes etc, which I thought was pretty good.

Another group has been set up to give out the carrots.

With the ever growing amount of new "holidays" being created by groups on sites like Facebook, you'll need a way to keep up with them all (you wouldn't want to forget Veliciraptor Awareness Day!). The simplest way to do this is to create your own calendars with your new favourite holidays already scheduled for you.

It's always interesting how the slightly unusual groups get thousands of members.

Still, better them than groups such as "Get Ian Huntley off Facebook or he will abuse the Internet with his poking skills", set up after someone created a fake Ian Huntley facebook profile, and idiots everywhere started getting worried.

Facebook groups, as found by members of Cookd and Bombd, were all created to somehow pressure HM Prisons Service through the power of Facebook, because the Home Office spend ALL their time on there, of course. Some were also created to wind these people up
Examples:

Ian Huntley has liver failure let the Bastard Die.
Ian Huntley, Get his sympathisers off of Facebook..

On one of the groups, someone explained the long days of Ian Huntley maybe having Facebook access were over.

OK. Let's set the record straight. A few weeks ago there was a profile for Ian Kevin Huntley with a picture of 'it'.

I sent a message explaining that I don't believe he is Ian Huntley, as I am the creator of a profile for Peter Sutcliffe, Fred West and Harold Shipman, I too have a pretty sick sense of humour.

But not sick enough to pretend to be Ian Huntley. So I politely requested that he deactivate the profile.

I also explained that I am a hacker and that I have IP lookup tools and that it could get nasty.

Two days later that profile had disappeared. He hasn't blocked me cos I got my friends to check.

So Ian Huntley is not and never was on Facebook. Over 30000 people have joined that group since then.

I agree, it's the group that needs to be off Facebook not Huntley.

By the way, I have since deactivated my 'killer' profiles as I do not wish to cause upset, I just find it amusing to have those people on my friends list.

Facebook even caters for those who want to stir up terror of Ian Huntley or panic buy carrots.

Truly, it is The Social Network Of Kings.

How the NUJ can recruit more students

I've been doing work experience at the NUJ for almost a week now, and I've been considering why more students don't join the NUJ.

£25 isn't much for the whole of your course, and if you wish to avoid a contempt of court or defamation action, the NUJ can give advice.

1. Most student papers are now online. Find out the address for the letters page and write a letter telling students why they should join the NUJ.

2. Type in "journalism" and the names of universities. Many journalism students have blogs and you'll be able to e-mail them through that.

3. NUJ students should be promoting the union.

Why is there no NUJ Students 2007 or 2008 blog?

Inviting NUJ officers to speak to media students and leaflet drives are two ideas.

I should "put my money where my mouth is" and be more active in promotion myself.

4. Some courses have Facebook groups, so join social networking sites and look for students there.

5. E-mail tutors for media courses asking them to promote the NUJ. Most are former/current journalists.

Neil McIntosh on blogging for journalism students

As part of my research for an article on Conrad Quilty-Harper, I e-mailed Jemima Kiss, a new media writer at the Guardian.

She very kindly sent me a link to this article along with her answers, as I'd mentioned my blog in the e-mail (and of course linked to it).

When I ask groups of student journalists who keeps a blog, only a few hands go up.

I’ve no idea where the rest of them plan to work, but it’s hard to imagine a branch of journalism where some kind of understanding of new media isn’t going to help.

And, even if there were such a branch, blogs are only the vehicle for enthusiasm - no journalism student could lose out from showing some, either generally or around a niche subject.

Happily, our class was all encouraged to blog by our online tutor, David Dunkley Gyimah.

I would be interested to hear from students on other journalism courses if they are encouaged to blog.

More thoughts on the subject from journalism student and election correspondent for MTV Alex Parker

Rwanda still suffers from the horrors of 1994

A BBC News report reveals that Rwanda still suffers from the ideology that inspired the 1994 genocide.

Last month's parliamentary report said old books "distorting history" had been found in libraries.

Some claimed, for instance, that Tutsis should not be considered Rwandan.

Happily, 6000 teachers are being taught by the Education ministry how to stamp out "genocide ideology in Rwanda.

The training, which comes on the back of a recent damning parliamentary report, was last month during the school holidays.

Schools re-opened countrywide last week.

The Kenyan Daily Nation has some harrowing reports:

Some students are reported to have developed a habit of writing to each other anonymous genocide-fuelling letters.

One of the letters presented as evidence said, “… ni inzoka, baraturambiye kandi tuzabica”, which is literally translated to mean “… they are snakes. We are fed up with them and we will kill them”.

The report says that at the Institute Prespyterien de Kirinda, Karongi District in Rwanda’s Western Province, there were hostile actions against a genocide survivor.

Has enough attention been paid to Rwanda by the media since Paul Kagame seized power and the genocide abated?

I doubt it. I see little on Rwanda online or in the newspapers.

When browsing BBC News, I saw "Rwanda" and my mind harked back to reading "America and the Age of Genocide" at 17.

The chapter on Rwanda went into detail about the genocides, the UN's response and the role of France.

Now, the country seems to have vanished from the headlines, and no new books are written about it.

The last time Rwanda was in the news was when "Hotel Rwanda" was released in 2004.

Maybe the voluntary sector should do more.

Oxfam is leading the way with grants to village councils. Let us hope some of these grants are used to train teachers to educate children about the genocide.

A Rwandan writing on the BBC Have Your Say site says this:

For us Rwandans never again will it be allowed within our borders or even anywhere we can reach using our limited resources.

For the International community the lessons will never be learnt, as long as the big nations continue to dominate international community.

African countries will continue to be of no importance to the extent of allowing the loss of 1,000,000 people.

After the role played by big nations Belgium, France, UK, US in their individual capacity and by using the organs of their UN, IMF and WB Rwandans were left to bear the burden alone in difficult conditions including paying for machetes that killed their sons and daughters.

The world is full of injustice. It is full of injustice to listen to the BBC interviewing a condemned criminal - a perpetrator of genocide explaining how he enjoys life at the expense others misery.

This is the proof that they have learned nothing.
Raymond K, Kigali, Rwanda

I disagree with Raymond K's comment on the BBC, but it is clear the international community has wronged Rwanda.

Spending and misery

Today the BBC have an article about how owning too much makes us miserable.

It suggests that this is more prevalent among English-speaking nations.

Perhaps that's a reason why some see the UK as lacking in culture.

In the past, having a TV was seen as an indicator of wealth and class.

Now, according to a study carried out by marketing and information group CACI, the average UK home has 4.7 television sets.

A study by Lloyds TSB found that seven out of 10 children have a TV in their rooms and half of them have a DVD player too.

Don't get me wrong, having a television is a good thing.

You can keep up the the news, intelligent drama such as Life On Mars, or documentaries.

Why would you need 4 televisions though?

One in your bedroom and one in the lounge is surely enough.

We've only got two televisions in our house, and to be honest the guinea pigs hog one of them and the gerbils dominate the other.

If it was up to them, they'd be watching nature programs all day long, with a pile of vegetables by them.

I can see from the 4.7 statistic that many people have more than four televisions.

How many video recorders and Freeview boxes would be in that household?

They must have a carbon footprint bigger than a clown's.

Too many people are spending money on worthless rubbish to make their lives interesting.

Here are some tips for an alternative lifestyle:

1. Read, read read. Read a newspaper each day. It's got puzzles you can be doing, such as Sudoku, to motivate your brain.

Good puzzle newspapers are the Mirror and the Independent.

You'll develop your imagination so much you can daydream away a boring half-hour, and won't need to buy overpriced tat.

Join your local library (for free) and take out books on politics, art, writing, whatever grabs you.

The best ideas are the ones that grab you while you're engaged in a mundane day.

Make a note of them and act!

2. Buy from charity shops, not High Street stores.
If you are addicted to the thrill of buying Shiny Things, why not dump the £25 XBox games and alarm clocks in the shape of pork pies, and visit your local charity shop instead?

Oxfam is good for vases and Fairtrade, and you'll get a smashing selection of books, videos and even old magazines.

Do check DVD's and CD-Rom's for how scratched they are before you buy.

You can come home on the bus with a nice book and DVD< but you've spent £4 as opposed to £9.

The main problem is that where the average English-speaking person's real wage has broadly remained the same since the 1970s, he or she is now constantly bombarded with messages to buy, buy, buy, and aspire to a Posh-and-Becks quality of life, according to James.

3. So, ignore them.

Ignore the tempting adverts.

You won't live a more tidy lifestyle by buying a new kitchen unit.

Wearing expense aftershave won't make women fall at your feet, not unless you're walking around the suburbs tripping people up (Not recommended).

That flashy car does not make you look like David Beckham.

4. You don't need the approval of others.

The people who like you for who you are will be the ones you enjoy spending time with. Don't put on a persona to fit in.

Even if you feel alone, you'll feel more true to yourself.

Buying things to be popular will destroy you.

5. You'll have more fun hanging out with one good friend than with all the Shiny Things in the world. Ring someone and have a cheap night out.

In a book titled Stop Me Because I Can't Stop Myself, a compulsive shopper called "Gloria" describes how she shopped online for six to eight hours a day, ending up in $80,000 of debt.

She lost her job and split from her husband and checked into a psychiatric institution after "shopping ruined my family".

Don't be another Gloria.

NUJ Extra

The charity NUJ Extra helps full NUJ members who have fallen on hard times, as well as dependents and former members who have left journalism.

It's got a new website, with gift aid forms on the site and an online donation form.

A worthy cause if any visitor to this blog can spare some pounds.

A similar organisation is the Journalists' Charity.

Cornmarket Street pedlars must be stamped out

I do hope Oxford City Council and Thames Valley Police do not lose heart when tacking illegal street peddlers.

They will be put under seven-day surveillance to collect evidence.

This will cost licenced traders: fees will be increased from £4,140 to £6,105.

I haven't been back to Oxford for a few weeks, and it would be nice to have a hawker-free zone.

Oxford is crowded enough on the weekends as it is.

The concentration of the more popular and "everyday" shops down Cornmarket means that it's often a fight to get from one end to another.

Illegal pedlars don't respect passers-by or the council. They dump their stalls in various parts of the pavement, creating a zig-zag line.

An example of the mess they cause.

Add in street artists and leaflet distributors, and it's mayhem, like an Oxford re-make of Blade Runner, with me as a grim-faced Rick Deckard picking off bargains as I weave past pedlar stalls from shop to shop.

Crowds gather round these stalls, and as Oxford has a high percentage of tourists, it's hard to warn people about buying from these people.

How quickly could the stalls be moved if someone is attacked and an ambulance needs to get past?

The best way would be for the council to post signs in Bonn Square and Cornmarket Street, as well as give leaflets to tour bus staff to give out.

People favour Cornmarket Street as it's cleaner than St Aldates, with its throbbing buses near the Odeon and Borders.

We don't want to drive more people into that filthy area. It's bad enough when you have to wait there for a bus to Summertown.

Gangmasters:

It's also alleged by the council that some of these pedlars are controlled by gangmasters.

Street trading officer Kevin Keating - the only enforcement officer employed by the city council - said some traders were controlled by gang masters.

He said: "Some of the Eastern European or illegal immigrants might be paid a small fee with someone else controlling the operation.

"People are trading and purporting to be pedlars, but they are not. If you come along in a van to Cornmarket Street with a lot of staff then that's hardly peddling, is it? It is a problem - but we are tackling the problem."

Maybe having more street trading officers would help.

How about putting a couple of Police Community Support Officers in plain clothes and giving them a digital camera to gather evidence? That should be easier than taking actual police officers away from their duties. They could also move pedlars on.

Does the council have the power to confiscate their stalls? It has the power to confiscate alcohol and stereos played too loudly. However, this may be a problem if gangmasters are involved. They may take it out on the pedlars.

Even some residents seem to support the pedlars:

Trudy Lillis, of clothes shop Thena, said: "I think it's quite unjust. They are only small tradesmen making a little extra bit of cash from selling a few silk scarves and I can't see why that's wrong."

At the risk of being harsh, Thena is in the Covered Market, where pedlars never gather.

Perhaps Trudy Lillis would disagree if traders set up in the market and got in the way of customers.

There is also the risk of loss of revenue from tourism.

Oxford is already cluttered and confused, a city of beautiful old college buildings sitting uneasily with blocky grimy shops, like a City gent next to a drunk on a night bus.

If I was a tourist vising Oxford, I would be annoyed how packed the streets are.

Incidentally, I would also be annoyed at the rudeness of some of the bus drivers, who seem to be on a mission to make people prefer driving, the litter (worse than Harrow, Brighton or Essex, may I add), the grimy buildings and streets, and the cyclists who hurtle down Cornmarket despite the ban.

I would weep at the way the city council and some residents treat one of the oldest centres of learning in Britain, which attracts students and tourists from all over the world.

I would cry at the beauty of Queen's Lane (my favourite street in Oxford, which I walked through on my way home from school) and after filming it from end to end I would cry again at how the whole of the city centre cannot look like this.

I would be struck with pangs of hatred everytime a gormless passer-by ignored the bin and threw his rubbish on the streets of a city of learning, in between a council van and the gargantuan HMV.

I would write a furious letter to the city council, and one to my local newspaper (and blog it).

And then I would resolve to visit a different part of Britain next time.

Is this what the council want?

Oxford is decaying and needs to be improved. For all the reasons I've given above, getting rid of illegal pedlars would be a good start.

Alicia Erian: Towelhead

Alicia Erian's first novel,Towelhead, is a warped take on coming of age.

It's told through the eyes of Jasira, an abused thirteen year old girl.

Beaten by her father, raped by a neighbour and rejected by her mother, Jasira has a hard life.

Yet she is also naive enough not to understand how sad her situation is.

While this frees her from despair, it also prevents her from breaking free of her parents.

By the end of the book, it is as if Jasira's life has looped.

Jasira has no control over her body.

She is banned from wearing tampons by her father, and banned from shaving her pubic hair by both parents.

Even the loss of her virginity is exploitative.

She is raped by a neighbour and then embarks on sex with her friend to "prove" she is not a racist.

Still, Jasira provides hope. She never succumbs to the venality and self-centered nature of those that surrond her, and is always able to seek out a decent person when things get too much.

Towelhead is well written and strangly reassuring, if only for the fact that Jasira never becomes corrupted. She is always moral and intrigued, confused by her surrondings yet never broken by them.

StrategyEye: Web 2.0 search engine

Der Spiegel showcases BusinessWeek's report on StrategyEye, a search engine that scans blogs and social networks for market search companies.

Anyone who is involved with a company can test the site for free for a fortnight.
Sadly I therefore cannot test the site as I do not fit any of the categories in the search engine. This seems a drawback - won't media outlets have to commission a company worker to review it?

However, it's obviously taken the market research world by storm.

Developers MarketClusters have been named as a finalist for the CNET Networks UK Business Technology Awards 2007 as a result of StrategyEye.

The site lists AOL, Benchmark Capital and Ask.com among its clients.

It also lists BskyB and BBC- so no doubt journalists will be using it in two years' time.

The site itself:

This automated information is further enhanced with commentary from a dozen in-house StrategyEye analysts, who examine mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, and partnership deals involving digital media.

All the information is fed into a colorful Web site, where clients can add comments, share additional information, and even interact with each other, just as users on social network sites like MySpace or Facebook can leave messages on their friends' profile pages.

As the BusinessWeek article notes, the site is able to optimize itself for Web 2.0 as well as gather data from it.

What does this mean for the blogger?

Any company will be able to know if you mention them without having to type their name into Google and wade through search results.

This is good news in particular for bloggers with low search engine rankings-instead of Company X having to click through twenty pages to find them (if they ever do) Company X will be alerted by StrategyEye.

However, this does not mean bloggers should ignore the rules on how to write for the web.

I have no information on this, but it is possible that StrategyEye will use a similar method of ranking to Google.

Even without the free trial, I can discover by looking at the front-page how in-depth StrategyEye's service is.

The site lists 2,070 Venture Capital deals, 13,400 companies and nearly 3000 mergers.

Although I can only see a summary of the news, I can tell that, among other news, widget developer Proximic has signed deals with Ebay and Yahoo, and

StrategyEye has also signed a deal with paidcontent.org.

However, there is competition

Not that StrategyEye will be the only one looking to cash in on companies' desire to filter out important market information from the ever-increasing chaff found on the Internet.

Reuters' Chief Operating Officer Devin Wenig, for example, has already proposed combining many Web 2.0 elements into the company's future market terminals.

Similarly, free-to-use news and blog aggregator Web sites, such as digg.com and technorati.com, could make subscription-based services obsolete by providing many of the same tools without charging fees.

Bonn Square supporter arrested

A student who tried to throw Gabriel Chamberlain a bottle of water was arrested by police and charged with littering on Sunday.

Mr Leighton said: "The police need to be held accountable for their actions. I feel their actions were completely over the top and unnecessary. There was absolutely no need to arrest me.

"Even if I don't pursue legal action, I will still be reporting the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. I think the whole thing has been ridiculous."

Police refused to comment:

Chief Supt Brendan O'Dowda confirmed a man was arrested for littering in Bonn Square and was released without charge.

He added: "I can't go into the whys and wherefores of the arrest itself."

He said he was not aware of an official complaint to Thames Valley Police about the arrest, but said there was a robust process for dealing with complaints.

Meanwhile Gabriel Chamberlain and two others have been bailed.

Harrow Council's Punning Press Release

Always good for a smile to be raised.

Releated to the case of a £35,000 benefit fraud, this press release was on my Google Reader.

Councillor Paul Osborn, Portfolio Holder for Strategy and Business Support, said:

"By claiming money on behalf of her children who were living 4,000 miles away, this individual has shown willful contempt to the taxpayer over a number of years.

You could say that whilst her children were in Florida near Disneyland she was living in fairyland.

"We are extremely disappointed and I consider this to be a lenient sentence.

Thomas showed complete disregard for others in need when she submitted those Mickey Mouse forms and acted all goofy when she was caught red handed.

NUJ stories

This is my third day at the National Union of Journalists and I am working on two stories.

1. An article about the first full-time blogger to join the union, Engaget's Conrad Quilty-Harper.

2. A feature on the reasons why different figures are given for journalists killed in 2007.

King's Cross station was evacuated today, with hordes of silk-tied commuters standing surprised on the pavements.

On a more personal note, someone usually friendly is still being cold towards me...that's their problem.

Amnesty demands end to death by stoning in Iran

Amnesty International has a new report out calling for the abolition of death by stoning in Iran.

Crimes punishable by stoning include adultery

Stoning has been used to kill children, including a teenage victim of incest.

Stoning in Iran is carried out as "the condemned are wrapped head to foot in white shrouds and buried up to their waists.

The misogynous regime of Tehran even details the difference between the stoning of men vs. women.

Sadly, the Home Office does not seem to take stoning seriously, as in the case of Samar in 2007.

In a letter to Mr Elwood, the Home Office said it was "satisfied that her asylum and human rights applications have been properly and fairly considered".

It stated that her circumstances "were below the required threshold to constitute being at real risk of persecution on return to Iran".

“The female condemned are buried up to their neck to prevent their escape.” Furthermore, "the stones are specifically chosen so they are large enough to cause pain, but not so large as to kill the condemned immediately.

They are guaranteed a slow, torturous death. Sometimes their children are forced to watch.”

No other government in the world practices stoning as the Iranian regime.

Eleven people are currently waiting to be stoned in Iran.

One case highlighted is that of Kobra N, who is in Tabriz prison in north-west Iran. She was allegedly forced into prostitution by her husband, a heroin addict who was violent towards her.

In 1995, after a severe beating by her husband, she reportedly told one of her regular customers that she wanted to kill her husband.

The customer allegedly murdered her husband after Kobra N took him to an arranged meeting place.

He was sentenced to death, but was pardoned by the victim's family on payment of diyeh ('blood money'). Kobra N was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for being an accomplice to murder, and execution by stoning for adultery.

The majority of those sentenced to death by stoning are women, who suffer disproportionately from such punishment.

One reason is that they are not treated equally before the law and courts, in clear violation of international fair trial standards.

They are particularly vulnerable to unfair trials because in Iran they are more likely than men to be illiterate and therefore more likely to sign confessions to crimes they did not commit.

Discrimination against women in other aspects of their lives also leaves them more susceptible to conviction for adultery, said Amnesty.

In spite of this gloomy reality, there is hope that death by stoning in Iran will be abolished in the future.

Courageous efforts are being made by local human rights defenders who launched the "Stop Stoning Forever" campaign following the May 2006 stonings in Mashhad.

Since they began, their efforts have helped save four women and one man - Hajieh Esmailvand, Soghra Mola'i, Zahra Reza'i, Parisa A and her husband Najaf - from stoning.

Another woman, Ashraf Kalhori, has also had her stoning sentence temporarily stayed.

Youtube: Baghdad Snowfall

From the Iraq Facebook Network:



This one is from a back garden in Baghdad:



More details of the snowfall.

Brian Paddick's manifeso comments in Evening Standered

Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick has revealed some of his manifeso in the Evening Standard.

As a Paddick supporter, I'm disappointed by some of the content, but I'm still going to vote for him, as I think he has a good reacord on crime and is far better than Boris Johnson.

Paddick on transport:

A ban on all cars in central London has been proposed by Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Brian Paddick.

This does not take into account disabled people, taxis or those on business-will they be exempt? How are CID officers supposed to get about? On bikes?

A better idea would be to exempt these people from any all-car ban.

Reaction to this on the Evening Standard comments area has been negative.

Is ths (sic) the comedy break? What on earth does this chap think he's up to?

If such a ban comes into force I'll simply move my business to another city - as will so many others.

Tumbleweed drifting across Trafalgar Square...

- Chuck Unsworth, London

Paddick has another idea, though.

Another serious option was to increase the congestion charge from £8 to £20 a day, penalising motorists who could take the Tube or bus instead. Launching his mayoral-campaign in Brixton, he vowed to scrap the western extension zone, which runs from Marble Arch to Notting Hill, if he defeats Ken Livingstone in the elections held on 1May.

Slightly better idea- although public transport will need extra servcies to cope with the numbers.

The Western Extension zone's existance should depend on how congested the roads were before its introduction.

It seems many people oppose the extension.

Will Paddick move the zone to another part of London?

He floated the idea of reducing the £8 weekday charge for essential journeys - and awarding every driver registered at a London address with six passes a year allowing them to enter central London for free.

"I would want to differentiate between people who have the choice of making their journey on public transport against those people who have no choice at all," he said.

HOW? These are three different ideas. CHOOSE ONE. Ken has.

Mr Paddick suggested he would shelve Mr Livingstone's plans for an emissions zone to crack down on vans and lorries going into central London.

"I'm not a great fan of white van man but that is the sort of person who is going to be hit by that emissions zone. It's going to cost millions of pounds and make very little difference," he said.

He promised to improve the reliability of the Tube and bus services, bring in unlimited travel for one hour on pay-as-you-go Oyster cards and consider free travel for students

Better ideas here. Linking the CC to emissions will not tackle congestion. Unlimited travel and free student travel is an excellent idea.

Okay, some students do have time to work part-time, and can afford travel.

I can assure you MA Journalism students don't.

Last term I had twenty hours of teachine per week.

Outside of class, we had Teeline shorthand and assigments to complete.

As I often have to travel around London (although the NUJ are kindly paying my travel from Nortwick Park to King's Cross station)to report, it would be nice if Im got free travel.

Paddick on crime:

The latest published Home Office figures show that just two per cent of the Met's stop-and-search operations in London were directed at finding knives.

Of course changing the culture that feeds violence will take longer but in the meantime, police could and should be putting more effort into taking the knives and guns off the streets.

While Brian is weak on transport, he's strong on crime.

Where Safer Neighbourhoods works, it's down to an excellent sergeant commanding the team - yet they are usually promoted up within a year or so and that local connection is lost.

We need to ensure that the teams keep working to restore trust locally and that they focus on the problems local people want them to.

It would be nice if Brian could talk to residents inside the Extension
zone, and if he could sort out his transport policy mess.

Still, I'd feel safer in a city where Brian was mayor than Boris Johnson or Ken Livingstone.

Francisco Moita Flores writes Madeleine McCann TV show

As I've criticised Clarence Mitchell for his support for a Madeleine McCann film, I should be even-handed and criticise Francisco Moita Flores as well.

A former police officer, he is now writing a 26-episode TV series about Madeleine McCann.

I usually loathe the attacks made by some of the press on Portugese players in the drama, but I'll make an exception in this case.

I'm not doing a reverse ferret-I still maintain that Tony Parsons was wrong in his comments.

How can you make a crime drama about an ongoing case?

There must be contempt of court laws in Portugal.

Francisco Moita Flores is also deeply biased:

He claimed on his Portuguese true-crime TV show that the couple or one of their friends sneaked away from a tapas bar to dispose of the child’s body after she was killed in her holiday apartment.

.

What next-a Madeleine McCann comic book?

The series will start filming in Portgual, and will be shown throughout Europe, although I doubt it will be on British television.

Francisco Moita Flores also wrote the preface "The Guilt of the McCanns". Sorry-I got muddled before between that book and Maddie 129, and put down the wrong one!

Lorry hit by snowfall in King's Cross

As I was walking to the NUJ from King's Cross station, I saw a huge lump of snow fall onto a lorry waiting at the lights on Pentonville Road.

Most likely, it came from on top of a building.

I was standing on the other side and had to step back as snow flew out in all directions.

A loud thud made some harried commuters turn round, but they son carried on marching from King's Cross down various roads.

I could see the snow melting-which is how I knew it wasn't glass or something dangerous like that.

Gabriel Chamberlain arrested

Bonn Square protester Gabriel Chamberlain has been arrested by police.

Police spokesman Vicky Brandon said he had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass, but witnesses at the scene said he came down because he needed some form of medical treatment.

The city council has also won its possession order.

Later today, council officials began to cut the tree down, while protesters tried to charge the security fence.

An account from UK Indymedia.

I thought it might be interesting to any readers who have been following the Bonn Square and Westgate Centre tree saga last week to put down what happened from my point of view, seeing as it was me that spent 24 hours up the tree outside the Westgate and even good journalists, let alone readers, are bound to draw conclusions that are wide of the true mark

Carl Warner: Foodscapes

From BBC News, some pictures of Carl Warner's Foodscapes.

Everything in the photo montage is food.

Each scene is photographed in separate layers to prevent the food from wilting. "I like the way smaller aspects of nature resembled larger ones," says Carl Warner.

.

More can be seen at Carl Warner's site.

As yumsugar advises

When you go to his website click on Fotographics and then the second briefcase.

Yesterday's Times on Carl Warner's Foodscapes art.

“I have to admit it hasn’t persuaded my children to eat their greens,” said Warner, “but at least they don’t play with their food as much as I do.”

Interactive web portal for Brazil

A new interactive web portal is intended to help promote access to information in Brazil.

Called Livre Acesso, it allows the viewing of multimedia on topics such as public institutions’ obligations.

The site is launched by Article 19, which critiques Brazil's consitution:

Brazil’s Federal Constitution protects the right to access information.

However, Brazil has not yet passed federal legislation regulating a universal access to information system, which should detail responsibilities, procedures and applicable deadlines for information disclosure.

Such a legal vacuum facilitates governmental irresponsibility and negligence regarding the disclosure of key information, with serious consequences to governmental openness and transparency.

Access to information is essential for citizens to hold their governments to account and thwart corruption.

Without information, people are also unable to meaningfully participate in public policy formulation.

Livre Acesso means "The Virtual Magazine" in English.

Cop out?

An anonymous commentator today accused me of a cop out because I refused to comment on the Gabriel Chamberlain allegations.

They also said that as a student of journalism, I should have followed them up.

As I can't find any evidence of convictions in the newspapers, any comment on this would leave me open to risk of legal action.

I also don't see how someone's alleged criminal convictions are relevant here.

It's a protest over tree felling.

I'm turning anonymous comments off- they allow people to spam, and if you've got something to say, why not give your name?

I'm not going to track you down and do handstands on your desk.

Bonn Square protestor backed by mother

Gabriel Chamberlain's mother supports her son's campaign, according to today's Oxford Times.

Mr Chamberlain's mother, Josephine Knight-Jacobs, joined Saturday's protests.

She said: "I think what he is doing is brilliant. I am very proud of him. Too many people don't stand up enough in this country.

"I don't understand why they have to cut so many trees down."

A second protestor, who Gabriel named as Eddie Beaumont, has joined him in the tree.

Commentators on Oxford Times story are still against the protest, as well as students, the jobless and anyone else they can moan about.

Posted by: Steve, Oxford on 11:33am today
The thing is, as the Oxford students come back from their long Xmas holiday, they will only join this protest and make things a whole lot worse for everyone. #

"Amputate thieves hands" is spot on in his assesment of that fool up the tree. if people knew who he was they wouldn't wee on him if he was on fire!

so lets just haul him down, or tazer him, or something and get on with it.

Human rights gone mad! The other point is, people are dragging the Westgate re-development into this arguement.

Heard on the radio someone say that, but they were too posh for me to understand what they said!!

I have no comment to make about any allegations made about Mr Chamberlain.

I have to say, a lot of the Oxford Times commentators are, as The Art of the Possible from Evita had it, "slightly to the right of Atilla the Hun."

Then again, it's easy to say what you want when no-one knows who you are or can e-mail you.

Oxford Indymedia also carries a report than an activist was arrested while giving Gabriel Chamberlain water.

At about 2 AM on Sunday morning two activists went to Bonn Square to try to give the fenced-off tree protester, Gabriel, some water.

As one distracted the security, the other tried to throw a bottle to Gabriel, but unfortunately it wasn't a very good throw ;)

Police sitting in a nearby car quickly noticed and the bottle-thrower was arrested "on suspicion of littering".

Fortunately only about 3 hours was spent at the police station before the activist was released without charge - the police seemed to have changed their mind and decided it wasn't a prosecutable offence.

The arrestee was advised by a solicitor that whilst the arrest was potentially unlawful, pursuing legal action would likely only result in a different charge such as "public disorder".

An IPCC complaint may be made.

Some more photos from Saturday's protest.

NUJ Work Experience

Today is my first day of work experience at the National Union of Journalists.

The huge offices are at 308 Gray's Inn Road, near Euston Station.

I've been an NUJ member since October 2007, shortly after starting my postgraduate journalism degree at Westminster University.

So far I've met the editor Tim Gopsill, and much of the staff in various departments.

I've been given my own desk, folder and e-mail account.

I am avid to learn more about both The Journalist and the NUJ, and am pleased to say I will be writing pieces for the magazine over the next couple of weeks.

So any NUJ member will be able to read what I write.

I will also be helping with Campaigns and with the website.

I'll try and update you tonight as well.

Background:

This will be the first time I have done work experience at a magazine, as opposed to a newspaper.

Before starting my degree, I completed work experience at the Bucks Herald in Aylesbury and Swindon Advertiser.

I enjoyed both of these- and learnt a lot from working journalists.

At Swindon, myself and another work experience student did vox pops with a digital camera and notepad.

We also went to interview offenders at a local community service project and wrote up copy.

I was lucky enough to go to Swindon Magistrates Court, good preparation for my News and Features module.

As regular readers of my blog will know, I have reported from both Harrow Crown Court and Harrow Magistrates Court.

I also carried out a telephone interview regarding the 2006 Swindon Mela, an Asian festival.

Aylesbury enabled me to build on my skills writing copy, and I followed a journalist on his city centre beat.

I also proofread the paper and set up an interview for a journalist.

I will be carrying out my NUJ work experience for the next four weeks.

After this, I will be working on a magazine project and taking part in Westminster News Online, a university-based web site.

Last term:

I am aware that last term I did not write that much about my course, and I feel this term I should rectify this.

I did however put some of the work I did up on this blog.

The label "submisson" accompanies each of them and I have tagged this post "submission" as well.

Click on the label and samples of my writing will appear.

I am considering blogging my Reporting Week work but will ask Andrew GA for permission first.

New Gambian radio station launched

A new online radio station called Radio Alternative Voice has been launched in Gambia.

According to the site:

Specifically the objectives of the Radio AVG project are to:

• Establish an online radio station that has its programmes relayed by local radio stations in Senegal whose signals reach the Gambia;

• Report on the human rights situation in the Gambia;

• Ensure that people have the necessary information to make informed choices on issues affecting their lives and the governance situation in the Gambia and in the sub-region as a whole;

• Promote dialogue and respect for the right to information and the free exchange of knowledge in the Gambia;

• Reinforce and compliment civil society activities in areas of information dissemination and sharing.

There are three programs so far: Open Forum,Nenyu Waax Lep and Kaabayfoo.

More information:

“We cannot continue to live in a country where divergent views cannot be expressed,” said Amie Joof-Cole, a Dakar-based Gambian journalist and coordinator of the project.

“This is like a dream come true! I’m excited about the online radio and I hope it gives more voice to Gambians,” he said.

“Citizen FM has been closed down physically, but the voice of the people will continue to be heard,” Joof-Cole said.

Citizen FM, a popular radio station in the Gambia, has been illegally closed down by the authorities.

The new radio will partner some Senegalese private stations, whose signals reach the Gambia, until such time that it starts its own independent live broadcast.

This will help reach out to the larger Gambian communities especially those without Internet access or facilities.

The BBC profile of Gambia shows how journalism is under threat there:

Gambia's private media face severe restrictions, with radio stations and newspapers having to pay large licence fees.

A commission with wide-ranging powers, from issuing licences to jailing journalists, was set up under a 2002 media law. It was seen by critics as a threat to press freedom.

Further legislation introduced in late 2004 provided jail terms for journalists found guilty of libel or sedition.

Deyda Hydara, one of the press law's leading critics and the editor of private newspaper The Point, was shot dead days after the law was passed.

In 2006 media rights organisation Reporters Without Borders described the press freedom situation as "catastrophic".

Gambia is ruled by President Yahya Jammeh, who claimed last year that he could cure AIDS in three days.

He came to power in a 1994 coup, and was elected in September 1996.

"A response within three to 10 days and a three-day course is almost inconceivable for a disease like HIV/Aids," said Prof Coovadia, who heads the HIV research team at the University of KwaZulu Natal and is a member of South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign.

He said that science was many years away from finding a cure "so the fact that someone announces a cure like this is exceedingly difficult to accept".

No blogging for me on 19th January

Although a good journalist should blog every day, it seems unlikely I will be able to blog next Saturday.

The Westminster University website says:

ISLS Outage day

There will be a scheduled outage of all central information systems on Saturday 19 January between 7am and midnight for essential maintenance and testing.

There will be no access to any information systems on or off-campus during this time.

Services affected include:

* Library catalogue
* infoLinX
* Library self-service machines
* Photocopying
* Computers
* Printing
* Wireless network
* SRSWeb

Hopefully the work will be done by Sunday and won't overrun!

Chris Morris intends to make film about terrorism

The creator of Brass Eye, On The Hour and The Day Today is making a film about terrorism.

More information from Chortle and The Times.

Morris said: “Most of us would dearly love to laugh in the face of our worst fears. Why aren’t we laughing at terrorists? Because we don’t know how to, until now.”

Though the film is a work of fiction, Morris has researched it over the past two years by visiting places in Britain associated with terrorist plots, including Leeds, Bradford and Luton.

“I don’t plan for this film to be offensive, but I do want it to be very funny,” Morris said. “I accept, though, that some may find poking fun at terrorists is offensive.

“There is this Dad’s Army side of terrorism and that’s what this film is exploring,” said Morris, who once, while hosting a Radio 1 show, made a hoax announcement about the death of Michael Heseltine, the former Conservative deputy prime minister.

More details:

The £4million movie, funded by Channel 4 and Warp Films, will be shot in the spring.

Morris will direct the film – his first full-length movie - but he will not act in it

Some reactions from Cookd and Bombd, a comedy messageboard:

"Saucer51":

Re Chris Morris new project - Bravo to him. There is a wealth of material there many comedians are too afraid to use.

Admittedly the subject is a minefield and I sincerely hope he's able to make and distribute it in peace without the predictable rent-a-quote groups kicking up a fuss.

If anyone can handle a subject cleverly, it's CM.

I wonder if he was inspired by Jon Ronson's documentary from a few years back when he filmed Omar Bakri, who was shown to be nothing more than a fat, idle buffoon who screamed like a toddler when a two inch fish landed on his lap during a jihad angling exercise.

Another poster calling himself Benevolent Despot disagrees

All sounds very tame to me, I mean - a terrorist version of Dad's Army? What does that entail? Monkey Dust-esque sketches of culturally confused fundamentalists? Bumbling jihadists confusing cocaine for bomb ingredients?

It has comedy potential, but from the way it's described it just sounds like Dead Ringers level playful mockery. Pointless, ultimately.

Still, could be interesting. I shall wait for more articles on this to from an opinion - the piece doesn't seem to be that well written.


In summary: Hmm.

Myself, I can't wait to see Chris Morris' new film. I know some politicians and members of the press were shocked by the Brass Eye Special, which is sometimes misrepresented, but sometimes people need to be shocked by comedy.

The trend seems to be for repetitive comedy such as Little Britain, a revolting show that has one joke per tedious sketch.

Of course, while people recoil when satire involves taboo subjects such as terrorism or sex, no-one seems to mind comedians poking fun at the overweight (Have I Got News For You on John Prescott), older politicians (Have I Got News For You and Tv Burp on Ming Campbell) or alcoholics (Tv Burp on Charles Kennedy).

I wonder how many children bullied because of their weight were targeted by someone inspired by Have I Got News For You?

If children see people on television in primetime making jokes about a subject, they will as well.

Given that this film will probably be 15 rated or over, we don't have to worry about children seeing it.

Violent films and children is a bugbear of our age, but I'm far less worried about children seeing violence than hateful attitudes on our screen.

Of course films such as Straw Dogs should be 18 or over, but I wonder if bigots such as Frankie Boyle should be allowed on television at all.

I'm sick of sitting down to watch comedy like Mock The Week and having to listen to homophobic jokes from Boyle.

Some of the Brass Eye Special was tasteless, but it was a much smaller part than many would admit.

Chris Morris wants to point out the weaknesses and stupidity of terrorists.

Perhaps that will dissuade some people from supporting them.

My replies to Steve Welker's journalism checklist

From John Robinson's The Editor's Log, a post by Steve Welker on what journalism students should be able to do.

1. Do you have a blog? What's it about?

2. (a) Can you operate a digital camera and (b) have you posted photos to Flickr or other online site? (Negative points for photos showing yourself drunk, undressed or picking your nose.)

3. (a) Have you shot digital video and (b) have you posted a video on YouTube? (Negative points, see #3.)

4. How much time do you spend watching YouTube? (Minus points if you admit watching at work. Double-minus if you say you never watch it. Triple minus if you're lying.)

5. Are you in a social network such as MySpace or Facebook? (Bonus points for a LinkedIn profile. More bonus points if you'll take part of your salary in Linden dollars.)

6. Do you share links socially? Can you hand code a link? (Bonus points for contributing to del.icio.us or Digg. Minus points for the TheHun or iXtractor.)

7. Do you use RSS? Does your blog provide RSS?

8. Do you do texting? (Bonus points if you can touch-type with a cell phone in your pocket or purse. Minus points if you answer "wOOt!" instead of "yes." Double bonus points if you immediately text yS to my cell or gmail account.)

9. Are you in a Twitter group? (No penalty for saying no. Minus points if you don't know what Twitter is.)

10. Have you created a mashup in Google Maps, Platial, Acme, etc.)?

11. Do you read JR's blog?

My answers are.

1. Yes (and it's had over 15,000 ClustrMap hits since it began in Summer 2007). It's about international news, Web 2.0 developments, national news such as a container on Poll Na Crann beach (very popular, I was the third result for that on Google) and my course.

I also contribute to our class blog, The Word From Westminster.

The blog has been linked to by Titanic.de, John Keenan's Guardian Blog and Amnesty International.

2(a) Yes. I can take photos and film on my digital camera.

(b)Facebook, Flickr.

3(a) I have used a digital camera to shoot video

(b) I have uploaded one 22 second film from Speaker's Corner onto YouTube. I have had a YouTube account for over a year and am well aware how to search and upload there.

4. One to two hours a day. It usually plays in the background while I read sites in my Google Reader or blog.

5. LinkedIn,Facebook, hi5 and a former bebo member. I have joined Myspace, but not many people that I know as contacts us it.

I don't use hi5 or LinkedIn much-but I understand both sites.

Feel free to add my as a friend on Facebook if you wish to know more about me. I also add my blog posts as a Notes RSS Feed.

6. I can hand code a link. I've done that for the various links in my posts since I started Webdesign in early October.

I have a del.icio.us account. I also have AddThis on my blog, and a handful of people have used del.icio.us to bookmark my posts.

7. I use RSS to subscribe to various sites in Google Reader, such as BuzzMachine and TechCrunch. I've used Feedburner to burn my feed, and have between 3 and 6 Feedburner subscribers per day (it varies a lot). People can also receive e--mail updates on my blog from Feedburner.

8. I can text and, though I don't use txt speak, I can understand it.

9. No, but I know what Twitter is.

10. No. I use Google Maps a lot, but not the other sites.

11. Yes, I read it every fortnight.

Appeal for donations for five-year old cancer sufferer

From The Policeman's Blog:

Jack Brown is a five-year-old boy from London whose mum and dad are both Detective Sergeants in the Met.

Jack is suffering from a rare childhood cancer, neuroblastoma.

This is a rapidly-spreading cancer and Jack's particular condition (the cancer has returned after remission) is such that he is considered untreatable in the UK.

However, one hospital - the Memorial Sloane Cancer Center in New York - has developed a treatment for cancers like Jack's which has proved, so far, 100% effective.

According to The Jack Brown Appeal, there is currently no UK government funding for this treatment.

$750,000 is needed (£382809.31)

Donations:

If you'd like to donate you can do so online, but in case the site has crashed here are some straightforward ways you can help (all details taken from the site):

1) Cheques payable to 'Jack Brown Appeal' can be sent to
Jack Brown Appeal
c/o 2Simple Trust
3-4 Sentinel Square
Brent Street,
Hendon London
NW4 2EL

2) You can donate direct to the bank account in the UK -
Jack Brown Appeal
Account Number: 24065404
Sort code: 503005
NatWest
Hendon Branch,
95 Church Road
NW4 4DL
BIC No: NWBK GB 2L
IBAN: GB95 NWBK 5030 0524 0539 61

3) You can donate direct to the bank account in the USA -
Acct. Name: Jack Brown Appeal Charitable Trust
Acct #: 738726991
ABA Routing Code#: 072000326
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
1440 N Center Rd
Saginaw, MI 48638

If you've enjoyed either Newsjiffy or The Copper's Blog, please help.

Our police are underfunded, underpaid and facing yobs every day-Jack's parents have enough to worry about without their son's illness.

Oxford Indymedia photos of Bonn Square protest

Photos from Indymedia of the 12th January demonstrations

Photos of the Westgate protest here.

You can see how useful Indymedia is for activists and those who cannot get space in the media.

As Indymedia points out, the Westgate Partnership are behind the development.

Oxford Times story on the 12th January protest.

As new security fences were being installed to surround the whole of the grassed area, protesters linked arms then forced their way into the square, chanting and waving flags and placards.

The barriers were then removed and about 50 campaigners were allowed in the square to protest without threat of arrest.

Baghdad snowfall

Snow fell in Baghdad for the first time on Friday.

Mohammed Abdul-Hussein, 63 and retired, told the Associated Press he had heard from his father when he was young that snow fell in the early 1940s on the outskirts of northern Baghdad.

"But snow falling in Baghdad in such a magnificent scene was beyond my imagination," he added.

Snow does fall in the mountainous Kurdish areas of Iraq though.

Youtube here.

Youtube:Election Night Armistice

Two excllent piece of Youtube from the Election Night Armistice.

Starring Peter Baynham, David Schneider and Armando Iannucci



Election posters and phallic taunting

"He'll kneel before any old Helmut" refers to former German chancellor Helmut Kohl.


Mister Tony Blair

Harry Hill's latest burp

Earlier today the new series of TV Burp started at 6:30pm on ITV1.

I usually enjoy TV Burp, although I don't watch soaps apart from the odd episode of Hollyoaks, so don't get who Dawn or Sheila or whoever is.

However, tonight's program was hit and miss.

I laughed at a clip from The Bill where Inspector Gina Gold promised a box of chocolates to anyone.

The stupidity of a family asking "Do you eat your pets" to people from another culture in Meet The Natives were also extremely amusing.

I hate jokes about people's looks. It's like playground sneering, two kids pointing and laughing as they jog along the tarmac.

I believe that these kinds of jokes encourage children to bully others.

Likening Nigella Lawson to a horse seems silly.

Sniggering about Ming Campbell's age is tedious.

And Wayne Rooney jokes are boring.

The lowest point of the episode was a parody of the Elephant Man if he had starred in Coronation Street.

It would be nice if the clip subjects didn't appear on Tv Burp as well-it dilutes the satire as Harry has invited someone he has mocked to perform.

Thankfully, stars don't record a "Hi Harry, did you see when Kathy Barnes bricked a window in Hollyoaks" piece, as it's tedious and their clips are weak.

I sometimes visit comedy messageboard Cookd and Bombd to read its members views on various comedians and sketches.

Fantastic fun as usual but I'm a little concerned by how many jokes seem to be based around someone's physical appearance or abnormality.

Especially the first 'Frankenstein' one. It just niggles me.

It's good TV Burp is back, but it's lost form, and most of Cookd and Bombd agree.

The Christmas Special with the awful Kennedy joke was poor as well.

Hmmm, I tuned in really looking forward to this based on the quality of last years episode.
It was enjoyable but certainly mediocre by their standards, as soon as I saw the first "celebs" segment it was clear that there'd been a short fall of material.

Hopefully the cobwebs are just been shaken off and the new series will be back to quality.

Let's hope so.

Enough of this spam

On a regular basis, I get tosh like this in my junk mail folder.

FROM THE DESK OF MADAM ASRAWATARA
ARAFOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPT.
BANK OF AFRICA(B.O.A)
OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO.
Dearest Friend,

I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance department of The African Bank.

I saw your contacts in INTERNET SEARCH,After much consideration i decided to write you since I cannot be able to see you face to face at first.

I will like you to take your time to read this mail carefully.

I did not mean to embarrasse you with my business proposal but I seriously need your assistance.

The e-mails often make use of people who have died, which is rather unpleasant.

The above was taken from an e-mail using a September 11th victim.

I'm just going to report these e-mails.

Why so many are sent using French e-mail addresses I do not know.

Maybe Yahoo and Myway need to do more to ensure multiple e-mail addresses aren't set up by spammers

I also wonder why so many are from people claming to live in Burkina Faso.

Fatimah Futa:

I recieved an e-mail from this person recently asking to link up with me, by which I assume she means linking blogs.

I would be interested to read her blog.

Fatimah, if you are reading, please post your blog or e-mail me again

Cécilia Sarkozy attempts to ban Anna Bitton's book

Anna Bitton's book Cécilia was allowed to be published after a Paris Court found against Cécilia Sarkozy.

It is the top seller on Amazon.fr, where it will be in stock from the 16th January at 15,20 euros.

It does not appear to be on sale on the UK site.

The book alleges that Cécilia Sarkozy made various comments about her husband-which of course I cannot repeat on here.

Two more books about the ex-wife of the current French President have been published.

I'm surprised Cécilia Sarkozy warrants three books.

The only wife of an elected ruler who I can think of as having as many biographies is Cherie Blair.

Maureen Paton and Linda McDougall have both written about her.

Cherie Blair has also written her own autobiography, named with the phrase "it does exactly what it says on the tin" in mind.

From French Girl In Finland, a weblog in English and French, quoting Yahoo News.

Michele Cahen, a lawyer for Cecilia Sarkozy, said she would appeal the decision, adding that the former first lady denied making many comments that appear in the book.

Cahen said she personally had not read the other two books.

The judge noted that Cecilia Sarkozy had discussed her relationship with her ex-husband in two interviews after her divorce, suggesting she was not seeking to keep her private life secret.

I know very little about Cécilia Sarkozy.

I only know a lot about Cherie Blair because she's often in the newspapers and appears in political books such as Andrew Rawnsley's "Servants of the People: The Inside Story of New Labour".

A little searching tells me she often leaves in the middle of big events, allegedly snubbed George Bush and has been parodied in the Times by Hugo Rifkind.

For those who want to learn more, the linked BBC online story is full of information.

Cecilia and the children often appeared in magazine photo-shoots with Nicolas Sarkozy, portraying a happy family life, with Paris Match showing the couple holding hands and enjoying a walk in the park on a weekend trip to London.

For a long time she was one of her husband's closest political advisers.

When he was minister of the interior from 2003, her office was next to his and she was known as a decisive and calming influence on Mr Sarkozy behind the scenes.

It does seem ridiculous of Cécilia Sarkozy to try to get a book banned.

Instead, she should issue a statement commenting on her side of the allegations.

Benazir Bhutto's card found in suitcase.

Signed letters and a card from Benzair Bhutto were found in a suitcase in Oxford.

Colin and Christine Burden from Meadow Lane, Iffley, had the case in a corner of their study.

It belonged to their brother, who was a former chief clerk and librarian at the Oxford Union.

Mrs Burden, 61, said they had found an undated card from Ms Bhutto wishing David a happy Christmas and New Year, as well as an official signed letter to members of Oxford Union's consultative committee.

She said: "We knew there were some letters in the case - then her name came up in the news and my husband said he thought David had a New Year card and a letter from her.

"The card says 'thank you very much for all your help, have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year'. And then it's got her name.

Bonn Square Barricaded

Spotlights and fences were put up around Gabriel Chamberlain Friday afternoon.

Fourteen police officers and five security guards were in the square while this took place.

Today is his eleventh day in the sycamore.

Fellow campaigner Linus Burdick, 42, said: "It's basically a siege. They have blockaded him and stopped us passing stuff up to him."

City council leader John Goddard said: "I think he (Mr Chamberlain) is misguided. The first thing we have to do is maintain public safety and that is what the fencing is doing, isolating the site."

Oxford Indymedia has photos of the Westgate protests.

Some good photos of the barricade here.

Steve Martin's Pure Drivel:

If you want to laugh like a seagull on Brighton Pier, then you need a copy of Pure Drivel by Steve Martin.

I found a copy for 20p in Gayton Library yesterday, as part of their sale of stock.

Apart from Roxanne and the wonderful parody Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, I haven't seen any films by Steve Martin.

Nor have I seen much of his stand up, so I was unsure what to expect.

Pure Drivel is pure gold.

Steve Martin takes an idea and adds a little twist to create the absurd.

He parodies Schrödinger's Cat, Marlon Brando and Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita.

Recommended for anyone, Pure Drivel is a neglected classic.

Take the Journos bowling

Had a nice night with several people from my course (and a couple of their friends) at Bloomsbury Bowling.

As you enter the bowling alley, there is a black and white film projected onto the wall, and some old cinema seats, which gives you the impression of a 1950's cinema.

I managed to improve my score vastly after correcting my stance as advised.

Be nice if the Tubes ran a bit later though.

Stephen Fry's guide to web 2.0

Lovely article by Stephen Fry on Web 2.0 in today's Weekend magazine.

Web 2.0 was christened, so far as I am aware, by Tim O'Reilly.

Oh really? No, sir, O'Reilly.

He was one of the early advocates of open source programming, and greatly championed Perl, the language my father speaks fluently but which involves too much brain power and concentration for the likes of me.

These days web 2.0 refers both to user-generated content and to social networking sites.

Rather than passively searching, browsing and eyeballing the billions of pages of the web, millions now contribute their videos, their journals, their music, their photos, their lives.

Stephen Fry's blog.

Abbey National E-mail Scam

Rememberer, a bank will never ask you for account details via e-mail,or for passwords by e-mail or fax.

I received an e-mail from accounts@abbey.com today.

If you get an e-mail from this address,delete it.

Pakistan Election Report: The Campaign Trail

Fascinating and rather unique article from Nicholas Schmidle in Slate.

Schimidle reported from Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta in December and January.

When it was his turn to speak, Haq leaned on the podium with both hands and promoted a candidate for the provincial assembly because he wasn't a sardar and therefore "understands your problems."

He added, "We will provide education, not Kalashnikovs, for your children. Now is the time for your decision. Give us your vote, and we will deliver."

Sardar is a Punjabi word used to mean a male follower of the Sikh faith.

Pakistan elections will take place on the 18th of February.

Police documents found in Teeside

Information on members of the public has been found in Hemlington, Teeside.

They were found in Dallas Court, by Thomas Miller walking his dog.

The documents included forms and a notebook containing details of offences and victims of crime.

As with the Kingston Hospital data, the information was handed to a local paper, in this case the Evening Gazette, linked above.

Cleveland Police have now launched an investigation.

Cleveland Police Deputy Chief Constable Ron Hogg said: “We take the security of all documentation and data extremely seriously and have stringent policies and procedures in place for safeguarding the massive amount of information held, stored and disposed of by the police.

“We are very disappointed that this incident has occurred and naturally we have launched an immediate investigation into the circumstances behind the discovery and to ascertain how police property came to be in a public place. We are grateful to the Evening Gazette for their assistance in having drawn this matter to our attention.”

"London Tonight" Last Night: 2008 Mayoral debate

Last night an audience wearing rosettes watched a bicycling Spectator editor and a newt-lover argue, while a former Blue Peter presenter tried to stop them.

No,that's not a cheese-fulled dream I had, but yesterday's London Tonight.

"Yesterday" is the wrong word, given it started at 11:05 pm, quite late for current affairs.

Chaired by Konnie Huq, the program began with each candidate stating why they should be mayor.

Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick went first, emphasising he was not a career politician.

Instead, he mentioned his thirty years in the police force.

Konnie Huq then thanked "Mr Brian Paddick" and allowed Ken and Boris to question the former Deputy Assistant Comissioner.

Ken asked questions on the congestion charge changes and affordable housing, while Boris asked about hospital closures.

Even then, you could see a frisson of dislike between the pair, with Boris shaking his mane at Ken's comments and muttering like a schoolboy.

Paddick was then grilled by Tory and Labour supporters (wearing the respectively-coloured rosettes) in the audience).

After this, our Ken took the glass stand and told the prize bulls making up the audience "If you don't believe London has improved over the last few years, don't vote for me".

Ken then defended his record, and Boris and Brian cross-examined.

The record was then marred by the background noise of Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone rowing, while Konnie Huq called for order.

Livingstone then faced the audience sections of Tory and Liberal supporters.

Johnson was the last to take the glass stand, and received a cheer when he promised "all my enthusiasm".

Brian Paddick asked him why he didn't want the 50% affordable housing target, and asked him about his experience with a large team.

Johnson replied that Paddick was also against the 50% target, and gave his editorship of the Spectator as proof he could work with a large team.

The audience then asked him about Darius Guppy and how serious he was about standing.

Finally, the three candidates reiterated their position.

My view:
I felt Brian Paddick was the strongest, and Boris Johnson the weakest.

Sometimes Boris didn't seem to answer the question.

Ken was okay, but not as good as Brian (Okay, I am biased!).

It would be nice if Question Time held a mayoral debate later this year, and Green Party candidate Siân Berry should also be on there.

Bruce Hegerty resumes Westgate Centre protest

Joined by his friend Stig, Bruce Hegerty has climbed back up a London Pine tree near the Westgate car park.

Miriam Hadcocks, 34, from East Oxford said: "I think when Bruce first went up it was an immediate response to something that was happening and he didn't have time to bring supplies.

"This time they're a bit more equipped. They're here for the long haul this time."

UPDATE: I found this blog post by Matt Sellwood, and as it's quite old I didn't want to start a new post for it.

There are literally scores of reasons to oppose this development, but my objections really centre around three areas - the transport implications, the environmental implications, and the housing implications. Needless to say, all of these are underpinned by my belief that ever increasing retail and never ending economic growth is counterproductive.

1) Transport implications.

As mentioned above, Oxford is a medieval city, with infrastructure to match. It is already creaking at the seams, and anyone who regularly travels around Botley Road, Abingdon Road, or Magdalen bridge, will be able to tell you that.

Trying to cram in tens of thousands more people to service this massively expanding retail centre (three times as big as the current site!) is insanity.

Botley Road will completely grind to a halt, the railway bridge will become all the more dangerous, and life actually *living* in the city centre will be made miserable.

This is not to mention the fact that the application makes it almost impossible to ever remove buses from Queen Street - a stated goal of the City Council, but one that other councillors seem able to simply forget when the juicy apple of the Westgate is dangled in front of them.

2) Environmental implications. Well, where do I start? Air pollution, perhaps - we have a statuatory obligation to reduce the appalling levels of NO2 in the atmosphere....so, of course, approving an application which will increase bus and car movements in the city centre is the move of a genius.

Places like Tennyson Lodge will become almost unliveable.

And then there's climate change - the topic that I spent most of my speech at Area Committee talking about.

This application drives a coach and horses through our recently adopted NRIA policy (which regular readers will know I spent years helping to push through the Council).

The *first* application that we consider with the new NRIA, and it doesn't even come CLOSE to meeting the renewable energy requirements.

It fails on all scores - it doesn't meet the overal minimum score, it fails individual elements of the NRIA completely - the approval of this application reveals the support of other councillors for our radical NRIA policy for what it really is.

A sham. When it comes to putting their money where their mouth is on climate change, non-Green councillors have failed, pitifully.

The officers reply to this rant was that such a development cannot be made environmentally sustainable under the terms of the NRIA and 'remain economically viable'.

Other councillors seem to accept this - while my reply is, if it cannot be made environmentally sustainable then IT SHOULD NOT BE BUILT.

3) Housing implications.

As if the above wasn't enough, the application will demolish 18 purpose built homes for elderly and vulnerable people in Abbey Place - a community that has been built and developed over decades.

In return, on this massive site in the city centre, worth tens of millions of pounds and largely owned by the City Council, the application will deliver just over 120 homes...only half of them 'affordable units', owned by housing associations (not the council).

This will not be enough even to meet the housing need of the people coming into Oxford to *work* at the Westgate - far from alievating housing need in the city, the development will make it even worse, and tear apart one of the few functioning housing communities remaining in the city centre.

Overall, this application is a disaster.

It is a disaster not because the Westgate Partnership are a particularly evil example of rapacious capitalists - but because of what it is.

It is an attempt to build a massive, unsustainable retail behemoth in the middle of a medieval town - and it will not work. If SDCC approve the application, they will be doing Oxford an enormous disservice

I thought I would quote the post in full as it deals with three different subjects and is worth a read regardless of your views on the Westgate development.

Madeleine McCann Lookalike Maddens McCanns, while McCann movie not ruled out.

The Daily Star reports on the reaction of the McCann family to news that the Juliet Adams Model Agency has a Madeleine look-alike.

The couple’s spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “This is an offensive way to make money out of Madeleine’s disappearance. This is deeply offensive to parents Kate and Gerry.”

This is the same Clarence Mitchell who is considering a Madeleine McCann movie!

Parents Kate and Gerry McCann, both 39-year-old doctors from Rothley, Leics, have denied reports that a movie is to be put into production about their daughter, who would now be four.

‘ This is a shameless money-making scheme... her actions are disgraceful, hurtful and offensive ’

But their spokesman Clarence Mitchell has refused to rule it out – and admits money is needed to continue their privately funded search for Maddie, who vanished on holiday in Portugal last May.

Who would want to watch a film about an abducted child?

Will people really keep a DVD of the film next to Finding Nemo or Shrek?

"Darling, it's time for a night in. Let's crack open a bottle of wine and watch the McCann film again."

"Let's skip to where David Beckham stares into the camera and asks us to remeber Madeleine."

While a fictional film was shelved earlier this year,it seems Clarence Mitchell now wants a film to be made about an ongoing case.

Surely that would prejudice any jury?

If Madeleine McCann is found, how would she feel later in life knowing that a film has been made about her disappearance.

Would she feel happy with her parents and Mitchell if thousand of popcorn-chewing soft-drink slurping film fans were feasting on her abduction?

The McCanns's should stop wasting money on private detectives such as Metodo 3, and let the Policía Judicial do their job.

The tabloid press are keeping Madeleine in the news well enough that no adverts are needed.

Perhaps the McCanns could get Youtubers who make videos about Madeleine to make a film for them.

No creepy music, scrolling text or to-camera thoughts please.

I hope Kate and Gerry McCann veto any movie.

Meanwhile, producers of US psychic TV show Haunting Evidence have been in Praia da Luz planning their own show about Madeleine’s disappearance.

Just when you thought things couldn't get any more stupid.

Thankfully, the parents are not getting involved with that project!

Let's hope Madeleine is found soon, and let's hope when she is she won't be confronted by racks of DVD's with her face on the first time she is taken to a rental store.

It must be hard enough being splashed all over the press, without being on the big screen as well.

Kingston Hospital test results found in street

200 documents detailing test results have been found abandoned on Kingston Hill.

They were handed to The Surrey Comet.

A Kingston Hospital spokeswoman said test results were only recognisable by a unique number but said all patients would receive written apologies.

She said an investigation, which may be assisted by the police, is under way.

Many of the documents which have been sent to Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton and the Roehampton Clinic, also included information on those attending conception and addiction clinics, as well as sexual disease and hepatitis test results.

MP Susan Kramer has tabled questions in Parliament asking the Department of Health to disclose how many times confidential records have been lost in 2007.

Ms Kramer said the public needed to know what, if any, safeguards were in place to protect their medical information.

"It seems that we go from one data protection accident to another, without anything being done to rebuild public confidence," she said.

"If clear procedures are not in place, then some serious thinking must be done."

Kingston Hospital has so far refused to answer any questions about the issue.

It would not even reveal when the documents went missing, whether any other patient documents have been lost and what steps have been taken to prevent it happening again.

It merely issued a two-line written statement: "The trust is taking the matter very seriously. With a full investigation under way, we will not be commenting further at this time."

On completing Reporting Week

I have now finished Reporting Week, and I'm tired.

I'm emailing some stations asking for work experience working with online content (big hint, if you are a local paper or TV station, I am interested in helping), so thought I'd blog for a bit as well.

Knowing me, one blog post multiples and then, like some kind of mutant blog in a little known horror movie, more appear.

Anyway, I've completed my law exam, which went okay as far as I can tell.

I wasn't too hot on fair dealing, but got most of the active period points.

Then I summarised five stories into 230 words- tough in one hour, but got it done!

I've also written a story from a speech by David Lammy, from EU stats on labelling food, and from a Select Committte video.

Today we did our last exercise, a Navy reporting exercise.

Victoria Cook from the BBC and VJ David Heathfield joined us.

They were students here last year, both on the Broadcast pathway.

Six of us will be selected byformer Lt Cmdr Rupert Nichol for this exercise, and I hope I get on it.

I am keen to develop my understanding of the miltary, and am interested to see how reporting is different when embedded.

Bonn Square protestor determined

Bonn Square protestor Gabriel is "in it for the long haul".

He has set up a kettle, television and stove in the sycamore tree's branches,

Gabriel has been joined by his friend Eddie, who told local newspaper The Oxford Times:

"It looks more homely now.

"We are very pleased with the support we have got. We are not going to give up.

"It's been cold and the tree shakes in the wind. People are offering us food all the time. People walk by and they shout and wave at us to keep it up."

The usual posts on the Oxford Times comment board:

"ANON, ENGLAND on 10:09am today
I THINK I AND OTHER PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT TO MR CHAMBERLAIN AS WE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE BUSTING A GUT TO KEEP HIM IN BENEFITS.DOES IT ALSO NOT OCCUR TO ALL THE PEOPLE GIVING HIM FOOD THAT HE IS EATING FAR BETTER THAN HE WOULD ON HIS BENEFIT CASH."

although one post supported student Rachael Cook and Gabriel:

"Citycounciltaxpayer on 10:12am today
Totally agree with Rachel Cook yesterday - most of us are not interested in developing Westgate, which is why we haven't noticed the council's plans to cut down trees.
And why all this fuss about students - we need young people in Oxford even if some of us have to subsidise them. Keep the trees and the students, and don't forget the mess and expense the council incurred when they 'improved' Cornmarket."

Westgate tree sit-in finishes:

After twenty four hours, Bruce Hegarty has come down from a London plane tree in Greyfriars Street.

Meanwhile Deborah Glass Woodin has been released on bail.

Mayoral debate tonight

The first London mayoral election debate will take place tonight on ITV at 11:05.

Brian Paddick, Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone will all be taking part.

I'll try to watch it and write it up if the kitchen isn't full.

Training Scheme in Canons Park

Harrow Council are launching a Volunteer Training Scheme in Canons Park.

It will take place Sunday, 20th January although the time has not been given.

You can see how to get to Canons Park here.

Contact details for times and further questions are here.

The volunteers will help improve The Spinney, the woodland area within Canons Park, by removing overgrown ivy creating space for Bluebells here to grow ahead of Spring.

On launching the scheme, Councillor Susan Hall, Portfolio Member for Environment Services said:

"This is a fantastic new scheme providing volunteers with new skills for their green fingers. It will also improve the biodiversity of Canons Park.

Councillor arrested after Westgate tree-felling protest

Green party councillor Deborah Glass Woodin was arrested by police at a protest over trees feeling.

A car park will be built on the site instead.

Police filmed and photographed protestors as all the car park entrances were sealed off.

Before her arrest, Ms Glass Woodin said: "I am embarrassed to be associated with an organisation (city council) that behaves in this way. It's as if they are saying all this is a forgone conclusion.

"I am not a tree-hugger. I am a democracy-lover and they have no right to pre-empt the result of a public inquiry."

The protest was only 200 yards from Gabriel's Bonn Square vigil.

C

ity council spokesman Chris Lee added: "These trees are being removed as part of the preparation for the Westgate redevelopment.

Smallish Facebook group on the Bonn Square protest.

"The Westgate development will provide a welcome boost to the range of shopping facilities in Oxford.

"As one small part of this major improvement, the Westgate Partnership considers it is essential to remove these trees."

A report from Indymedia.

These trees, along with sheltered housing, and - I was told by a group of young people - the Oxford and Cherwell Valley College students' pub are being cleared to make way for a gargantuan cathedral to capitalism plus multi-storey car park.

As one student sarcastically put it, "Yeah, 'coz what we really need are more shops".

The sheltered housing is in Abbey Place, and a public inquiry is being held into its planned compulsory purchase.


You can see Youtube of the Bonn Square demo below, from visionontv (linked by Indymedia):

Former army officer arrested on suspicion of genocide

Former Rwandan army officer Marcel Bivugabagabo was arrested in Toulouse on Monday.

He is on the list of war criminals wanted for trial by the government in Rwanda.

Rwandan Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama told AFP in Kigali that the government had asked France to arrest and extradite the former army lieutenant-colonel.

He said a trial in Kigali would allow victims to witness that justice is being done.

"This man committed genocide acts mostly in the Ruhengeri region, in particular at the Ruhengeri appeals court and the Nyakinama university campus," said Karugarama.

The 1994 Rwandan genocide saw 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates by Interahamwe and the Hutu military.

The Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front currently rules Rwanda.

Bonn Square protest inspires fight against Westgate tree felling

From today's Oxford Times, by Giles Sheldrick.

A TEN-strong group of protesters has gathered in Norfolk Street to fight against more tree felling in Oxford.

City council park rangers used chainsaws to cut down an 80-year-old London Plane tree this morning, as work starts to clear the area around Westgate Car Park.

However, campaigners - some of who are already in Bonn Square - have promised to save the remaining trees.

Workmen downed tools at 11.30am after it became clear a protest was likely.

The fact that a student gave her opinion seems to have angered some people.

Posted by: Angry, Cowley on 1:58pm today
Couple of points to Rachel Cook, the first being that her opinions are welcome when she ACTUALLY pays some council tax until then she can keep quiet about what Oxford needs(and lets face it being a student she wont be in Oxford long term), secondly if she really wants to make a stand on this, she should go to Borneo or the amazon rain forest in Brazil where deforestation is a genuine problem andd will effect us all.

If she actually took the time to check, she would realise that Oxford City Council have a very green policy on removing trees and will try and replace one when they have to chop one down.

I wasn't aware council tax was required to make someone a British citizen (sarcasm). Perhaps Angry, Cowley doesn't care what anyone under 18 thinks either.

Posted by: interested observer, city centre on 2:25pm today
I guess these wasters are claiming state handouts of some kind to get them you have to be available for work if you spend weeks up a tree you are not are you this should be cracked down on then see how many wasters we get up trees a water cannon might help

Getting people into trees with a water cannon.

The Westgate Centre, for those who have not been to the centre of Oxford, is one of two shopping centres there. It's rather horrible as far as I'm concerned, being dominated by a massive JJB Sports and Primark.

It's more grotty than the Clarendon Centre, which is saying something.

If you come to Oxford, better shops can be found in the Covered Market and near the bus station (careful there at night though, the station is near quite a few pubs and drinkers often spill out onto the square.

Jacqui Smith intends to raise cannabis to Class B

I nearly wrote "...intends to raise level of cannabis", but that would sound like she wanted to promote the drug.

No, fresh from annoying most police officers in Britain, Jacqui Smith is planning to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug over fears on mental health.

From now on, possessors could face five years in prison, although senior officers are only calling for an £80 fixed penalty fine.

I disagree with this.

I have no doubt that those who smoke certain varieties of cannabis or suffer from mental problems will suffer psychosis and loss of motor skills.

However, how many of those who smoke cannabis have mental health problems?

Those that do should be warned, and those that do not should be left alone.

I believe that police officers on the sharp end- already underpaid and facing yobs and insane Government targets-would rather be locking up someone dealing heroin than someone dealing or using cannabis.

A leaflet warning of the dangers to those with mental health problems might cause the user to stop, saving his life and the NHS money.

A fine will just cause the user to pay £80 and then call up a dealer looking for more cannabis.

Some people will turn to crime to pay off these fines, so police will have more robberies to attend.

More funding for drugs education is needed.

I believe that we should decriminalize less dangerous variates, which will discourage drug dealers from selling more dangerous mixes such as grit weed.

I know friends and a family member who have suffered mental health problems.

I am well aware the state of your mind is not a joke.

However, cannabis use is endemic in this country.

Giving thousands of people £80 fines will not help.

Drugs education and the differentiation between mixtures of cannabis will.

And while we are talking about the police, why shouldn't the Royal Family pay for private bodyguards?

We could use the army if the "war on terror" ever ends.

We are losing police officers like books through a damp cardboard box.

Jan Berry told a Commons Select Committee last month that 17 police officers have left Gloucestershire to work in Western Australia.

We need every police officer on the streets, not escorting Prince Phillip to garden parties.

WeGame.com

TechCrunch reports on the launch of WeGame.com.

Jared Kim, a nineteen-year-old Berkeley dropout, has taken a similar obsession of video games and turned it into something his parents can certainly be proud of: a new website called WeGame that provides both the place and the tools for gamers to share screencasts of their favorite in-game moments.

As Kim puts it, the launch of WeGame is like launching YouTube and giving everyone video cameras, because WeGame not only provides a place to upload and share videos, it provides the tools necessary to create the video content itself

With an easy-to navigate top menu, it is easy to find your way around.

You can use the WeGame client to record videos for free, publish to the site and let other WeGame users watch you game.

This can only be done on a PC running Windows.

So far over 300 videos from games such as Hellgate London and Call Of Duty 2 are already up.

Here is a typical video, in this case from Call Of Duty Four, depicting "Team Deathmatch:Ambush".




Aside from the Sim City and Grant Theft Auto series, PC Games aren't really my thing, but I can see that WeGame.com is going to be huge.

UK download prices cut by Apple

After a European Union investigation into iTunes, Apple has announced a cut in UK Prices.

It costs 79p to download a track in the UK, compared with 99 euros (74p) in Europe and 99 cents (50p) in America.

The amount that British downloaders pay will now be the same as in the rest of Europe.

However, American users of iTunes will still pay less than any European users.

Google Code Blog: How to embed charts in a webpage

Simon Dickinson links to this useful piece of information.

You can see an update and a link to the discussion group on the latest Code Blog post.

Adbusters goes to the Supreme Court

On Monday, the British Colombia Supreme Court began hearing a case bought by Adbusters.

Major Canadian networks have refused to show their adverts.

Marketing Magazine has good coverage.

In 2004, AdBusters took its fight to the B.C. Supreme Court, naming the CRTC and several major media companies in its lawsuit.

At stake, the lawsuit claims, is “a reasonable opportunity... to be exposed to the expression of differing views on matters of public concern,” a right enshrined in the Canadian Broadcasting Act.

Beginning today, the B.C. Supreme Court will hear arguments as to whether AdBusters’ case will go forward against CBC, Global Television and the CRTC, which want to be removed from the lawsuit.

“They have kind of a front face and a back face,” says Kalle Lasn, editor-in-chief at AdBusters.

“When I first tried to talk to TV executives, they talked about rules and how advocacy messages have different rules than product messages.

But when you push a little bit harder, it becomes evident that they’re scared they’re going to lose business [from advertisers].”

Adbusters Magazine on the case.

Madeleine McCann Movie?

The Mirror report that Madeleine's McCann's disappearance may be turned into a film.

Talks have been held between advisers to Kate and Gerry McCann and a director representing IMG.

Gerry McCann, according to the BBC, denies this.

Writing on his blog on Tuesday, Mr McCann said: "Some of the media coverage today has been at its worst since Kate and I were declared arguidos [formal suspects].

"We can categorically deny that we are considering a movie about Madeleine's disappearance. This is simply untrue.

"We are approached by a huge number of media outlets regarding a myriad of projects, only a tiny proportion of which we agree to.

I can't access Gerry's blog-when I click on "go to findmadeleine.com" a media player window pops up.

There have also been talks with ITV executives regarding a factual drama.

Kate and Gerry McCann are also negotiating a book deal.

All this is being done to raise more money for the Find Madeleine fund.

It will benefit the McCann's in another way-it will increase the mountain of publicity surrounding their daughter's disappearance.

I wonder if the xenophobic attacks on Portuguese officials will be mentioned in the film.

You can see a summary of Tony Parsons' comments here.

Those were not the McCann's fault-but it does show the mindset of some in the British press and some of the McCann's supporters.

When the Tories left office in 1997, many hoped Britain was becoming more tolerant.

"Goodbye xenophobia" was an Observer headline.

Other children missing in Portugal, who didn't get a campaign fund or book deal.

Britain is being made to look like an island of xenophobic small-minded idiots to the Portuguese.

The tabloid press attack Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral's weight, the Policia Judiciaria and the Portuguese press.

Let's not forget the cretins making obnoxious YouTube videos either.

Some of them are creepy and one or two are offensive.

The psychics, the wristband wearers, gormless David Beckham staring at the camera like someone had a shotgun trained on him behind it, the football players with Find Madeleine shirts, Don't You Forget About Me played in football grounds...

It is like we are living in 1984, forced to show how sad we are, while around Britain abandoned children huddle in doorways wishing people cared about them like they profess to care about Madeleine McCann.

Too many people in Britain are zombies, only thinking what the tabloids and chat programs tell them to.

Naples rubbish dispute: photos

Photos of the Naples rubbish dispute from Der Spigel.

More information.

A bulldozer trying to remove a roadblock, escorted by police, fell under a hail of rocks and metal bolts thrown by local residents, according to Italy's ANSA news agency.

Police retreated but returned on Tuesday morning, when protesters fought them again. Reuters reported some protesters injured and hauled away in ambulances.