Homophobic attack in Edinburgh

Pink News reports:

Police in Edinburgh are seeking a gang who broke a man’s jaw during a homophobic attack early on Saturday morning.

The victim, 20, had just left the GHQ nightclub when he passed a group of four men and one woman on Broughton Street at 2.30am.

Police say the gang began making offensive remarks to him before one of the men stepped forward and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

The victim made his way home and went to hospital the next day for treatment.

The suspects are all aged between 18 and 19 years old.

The first suspect is described as male, white, 18-19-years-old, 5ft 7ins tall with a small build and light-coloured hair with the fringe swept to one side. He was wearing light-coloured trousers.

The second suspect is described as male, white, 18-19-years-old, 5ft 11ins tall with black spiky hair. He was wearing a black zip-up top and white trousers and spoke with a local accent.

The female suspect is described as white, 18-19-years-old with bleached blonde shoulder-length hair and spoke with a local accent.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: “This was a totally unprovoked and homophobic assault that has left the victim with a serious injury to his jaw.

“We believe a number of patrons from the various venues in and around Broughton Street may have been in the area and witnessed this incident, and would urge anyone with information that can assist with our enquiries to contact police immediately.

“We would similarly urge the members of the group who did not become involved in the assault to come forward to officers and identify the culprit.

“Anyone found to be involved in hate crime will be robustly dealt

with.”

Strathclyde University occupied over fees and cuts

On Thursday 29 September at 11 am, around 40 students from across Scotland went into occupation of the Collins building at Strathclyde University in protest of the recently announced £27,000 fees for RUK (Rest of UK, apart from Scotland) students.

The occupation follows a similar occupation last week at the Royal Conservatiore of Scotland (formerly the RSMAD) after they announced their intention to introduce £36,000 fees for RUK students, and a 36 hour occupation at Edinburgh University on the 16th of September in protest of Edinburgh University's decision to set RUK fees at £36,000.

This year Strathclyde has seen less than 170 humanities and social science students with many staff and students allegedly blaming cutbacks in these departments for the decline in student numbers.

Students say they are standing in solidarity with the UCU in resisting job, pay and pension cuts,according to Indymedia Scotland.

The Herald also reported that Strathclyde is considering 3 year degrees. Students have told Indymedia that this is another attack on the quality of their education.

Students from across Scotland have said that they will continue to cause disruption over university plans to introduce RUK fees.

University student Ben says "The introduction of fees and continuing cuts are an attack on the values of free education that Scotland has always prided itself on, we will continue to fight cuts in education and fight wider government austerity plans.

"Disruption will continue and escalate as long as universities continue to pass on
government cuts. The student movement did not end with the introduction of fees for English students, we will continue to fight and we will win."

The students demand: no fees for rest of UK students, a halt to all course closures and cutbacks to lecturers and staff, no cuts to any other departments or staff, no introduction of 3 year degree programmes, full degrees, fully funded for students, freedom of access in and out of the occupation, no reprisals for students and staff participating in the occupation, and a living wage for all staff at Strathclyde University.

They plan to leave their occupation at 14.00 on the 30th of October following 27 hours of occupation.

The time was chosen to symbolise the £27,000 fees for RUK students.

Via Indymedia Scotland.

Help stop a pastor being executed in Iran

Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani faces execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith.

Pastor Nadarkhani was tried and found guilty of apostasy (abandoning Islam) in September 2010 by the court of appeals in Rasht.

The verdict was delivered verbally in court, while written confirmation of the death sentence was received nearly two months later.

Following investigation, the court in Rasht has ruled that Pastor Nadarkhani was not a practicing Muslim adult before becoming a Christian. However, the court has decided that he remains guilty of apostasy because he has Muslim ancestry.

Pastor Nadarkhani’s lawyer, Mr Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, has made it clear to the court that the repeated demand for recanting is against both Iranian law and the constitution. The court replied that the verdict of the Supreme Court must be applied, regardless of the illegality of the demand.

The death sentence for apostasy is not codified in the Iranian Penal Code. However, using a loophole in Iran’s constitution, the judges in Rasht based their original verdict on fatwas by Ayatollahs Khomeini, the “father” of Iran’s revolution in 1979,

Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, and of Makarem Shirazi, currently the most influential religious leader in Iran.

Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, of the Church of Iran denomination, was arrested in his home city of Rasht on 13 October 2009 while attempting to register his church. His arrest is believed to have been due to his questioning of the Muslim monopoly on the religious instruction of children in Iran.

He was initially charged with protesting; however the charges against him were later changed to apostasy and evangelising Muslims. His lawyer, Mr Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, a prominent Iranian human rights defender, is also facing legal difficulties.

On Sunday 3 July a court in Tehran sentenced Mr Dadkhah to nine years in jail and a 10-year ban on practicing law or teaching at university for "actions and propaganda against the Islamic regime". He is currently appealing the sentence.

Please take action to pressure Iran to free Yousef Nadarkhani, who is facing death for his religion.

E-mail the Iranian embassy via a contact form

You can also ring them on 0207 225 3000 or email directly: infoATiran-embassy.org.uk.

People should not be killed because of their beliefs.

Transport chief warns of 2012 Olympics travel chaos

The Evening Standard reports:

The woman responsible for delivering the Olympic transport plan for London's boroughs said [on 27 Sept that] the strategy could end in chaos.

Catherine West, who is in charge of transport for the 33 London councils, is at loggerheads with Games planners over their proposals to ease the strain on roads and public transport by cutting journeys by a third.

The target of cutting the equivalent of almost 300,000 trips per day was unrealistic, said Ms West, leader of Labour-run Islington council.

In a bitter attack on Olympics chief Sebastian Coe, she added that London was an Olympic city divided between East End boroughs which had been "picked off" and the rest who are "not engaged at all"...

Coun West accused Games chiefs of "storing up trouble" due to a nine-month delay in transport plans for individual venues. The International Olympic Committee has privately said London needs alternative traffic plans such as a city centre driving ban.

TfL is in charge of Olympic transport policy and controls how it will be implemented on the Tube and much of the 109 miles of road lanes for Games traffic. But London boroughs are critical as they manage most roads.

Mark Evers, director of Games transport at TfL, said: "We are (confident) we will achieve the necessary changes to travel, We do not need to reduce travel by 30 per cent at all times throughout the Games period. The levels will vary from day to day depending on the events taking place."

One reader comments:

The idea that thousands of people will be cycling to the olymnpics is a joke. For a start Stratford council blocked the introduction of Boris's cycle superhighway.

Cycling [round] the Stratford gyratory is strictly for lovers of extreme sport.

From Hackney the olympic route is a joke, with a Greenway that its not clear what's for walkers and what's for cyclists.

From parts north and west there is just about no cycle routes that any normal person would want to use.

Seminar on learning the lessons from Winterbourne View on 22 November

In June, the horrific abuse of vulnerable people at Winterbourne View "care" home was exposed by Panorama.

It led to an outcry of fury, but sadly it has now dropped out of the headlines due to our fickle media.

A seminar called ‘Learning the lessons from Winterbourne View’ will take place on 22 November at the ORT House Conference Centre, 126 Albert St, Camden, London NW1 7NE.

The event is intended for commissioners, people with learning disabilities themselves and their families, providers and practitioners,.

The seminar includes a prerecorded session on judging and checking quality, hosted by Fiona Ritchie,formerly Learning Disability Lead, Healthcare Commission, and another session on "Training, development and supervision of staff working with people who challenge – getting it right for everyone", where the speaker will be confirmed.

Round table discussions will take place where delegates will be able to put forward their views around how improvements and changes can be made

Registration costs from £99-£149 plus VAT (some free bursaries are available).

Click here for the programme.

Click here for the booking form.

Getting to the venue:

The nearest tube station is Camden Town on the Northern Line.

Camden Road overground station is also nearby, although further away than Camden Town tube.

Numerous buses, including the 24,134,168 and 253, stop outside Camden Town tube, while the 274 stops very near the venue at Parkway.

Southwest Airlines accused of homophobia

Pink News reports:

Leisha Hailey, who starred in the US lesbian drama The L Word, says she was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight after a row over kissing her girlfriend.

The actress and singer was with her partner on a flight between Baltimore and St Louis when the incident happened.

She tweeted yesterday: “I have been discriminated against by @SouthwestAir. Flt. attendant said that it was a ‘family’ airline and kissing was not ok.

Hailey added: “We were escorted off the plane for getting upset about the issue.@SouthwestAir endorses homophobic employees. No one made her accountable.”

She has demanded a public apology and a refund from Southwest Airlines and is urging other gay people to boycott the airline.

Southwest Airlines states on its website that it is the official carrier of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

A representative for the airline told TMZ.com that passengers complained that the couple’s behaviour was “excessive”.

The spokesperson added: “Our crew, responsible for the comfort of all customers on board, approached the passengers based solely on behaviour and not gender. The conversation escalated to a level that was better resolved on the ground, as opposed to in flight.

“We are ready to work directly with the passengers involved to offer our heartfelt apologies for falling short of their expectation.”

Vide Cor Meum by Patrick Cassidy

One of my ten favourite pieces of music. Beautiful and haunting.

This piece first appeared in the movie Hannibal, which it was especially composed for.

More rubbish sentences in Oxford

The Oxford Times reports:

Lynda Hawes, 67, of Worminghall Road, Oakley, Aylesbury, admitted driving a vehicle in Waitrose car park, Thame, while unfit through drink. Fined £500, a £15 victims’ surcharge and £80 costs. Banned from driving for 30 months...

Kenneth Biddle, 62, of Arlington Drive, Marston, admitted drink driving in Dents Close, Marston, on May 18. Namely having 57 micro-grammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. Above the legal limit of 35 microgrammes. Fined £300, a £15 victims’ surcharge and £85 costs. Banned from driving for a year.

Bryn Barrick, 40, of Grays Road, Oxford, admitted being drunk and disorderly in St Aldate’s, Oxford, on May 18. Given a six-month conditional discharge.

Emma Craft, 21, of Lyden Road, Oxford, convicted of assault by beating in Oxford on June 12, 2010. Given a 12-month supervision order and told to do 200 hours’ unpaid work. Also told to pay £75 compensation and £125 costs...

Adrian Ryan, 23, of Astrop Lane, Littlemore, admitted intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress by using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in Oxford on March 26. Given 12 months’ supervision and told to attend the Control of Violence for Angry, Impulsive Drinkers course for 10 days. Also told to pay £65 costs.

Carl Hobbs, 47, of Thames View, Abingdon, convicted of assaulting Pc Bleach in Abingdon on Boxing Day. Fined £400, a £15 victims’ surcharge, £400 compensation and £750 costs.

I see that assaulting a police officer only nets a fine, while assault by beating gets just a fine, 12-month supervision order and 200 hours’ unpaid work. I'd like to see a custodial sentence followed by intensive unpaid work for both.

As for the drink-drivers, I think there should be a minimum five year ban, which would help to lower pollution as well.

Investigation launched into London 2012 corruption claims

The Evening Standard reports:

An investigation has been launched into allegations that large amounts of money were paid out in an attempt to ensure boxers from Azerbaijan received gold medals at the 2012 Olympics.

The claims, on last night's Newsnight programme, revealed an investigation uncovering payments of millions of dollars from an Azeri national to the International Amateur Boxing Association's World Series of Boxing competition. The money was allegedly in return for guaranteed Azeri gold medals at the Games.

The BBC2 programme quoted AIBA president Dr Ching Kuo as saying: "Thanks for informing us about this information.

"I will immediately conduct an investigation into this because there is a zero tolerance policy in AIBA."

...The allegations, from an unnamed insider, relate to the financial affairs of the World Series of Boxing, a full-time, salaried tournament inaugurated by AIBA last year - ostensibly to make it more attractive to fighters to stay in the amateur ranks.

Girl accused of blasphemy for spelling error

The Express Tribune reports:

It may have been a mere misplaced dot that led to accusations of blasphemy against a Christian eighth-grader, whose miniscule error led to her expulsion from school and uproar amongst local religious leaders.

Faryal Bhatti, a student at the Sir Syed Girls High School in Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) colony Havelian, erroneously misspelt a word in an Urdu exam while answering a question on a poem written in praise of the [Prophet Mohammed].

The word in question was ‘laanat’ instead of ‘naat’ – an easy error for a child to make, as the written versions of the words are similar.

According to the school administration and religious leaders who took great exception to the hapless student’s mistake, the error is ‘serious’ enough to fall within the realm of blasphemy...

In a move that was apparently meant to pacify the religious elements clamouring for action against the teenage ‘blasphemer’, the POF administration expelled her from the school on Saturday.

Faryal was not the only one who got in trouble for her spelling error, however, as her mother, Sarafeen Bhatti, who was a staff nurse at the POF Hospital Havelian for several years, was immediately transferred to POF Wah Cantonment Hospital.

One in six Greater Manchester residents suffer from depression or anxiety

The Manchester Evening News reports:

One-in-six people in Greater Manchester are suffering from depression or anxiety – with doctors prescribing more than £14m of antidepressants in the last year, the M.E.N. can reveal.

Experts say the economic downturn has led to a huge increase in the number of people being treated for mental health problems.

More than 400,000 people in the region currently have some form of depression or anxiety, according to NHS figures.

And doctors are linking the spike with job losses and service cuts caused by state of the economy.

Dr Raj Patel, medical director of NHS Greater Manchester and himself a GP, said: "The recession has had a huge impact on the number of people coming to my surgery with depression.

"Many patients are showing anxiety due to dealing with more work pressures and heavier workloads as a result of cuts and redundancies.

"We also see depression associated with worklessness as well."

It's disappointing how spiteful and ignorant the people leaving comments are below.

Malaysia promises legal reforms

The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has announced the repeal of two draconian security laws and promised to amend the strict media law.

The controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Emergency Ordinance (EO) will be replaced by two new laws “strictly for terrorism” similar to the ones drawn up in the United States and United Kingdom.

Najib also assured that individuals will not be arrested for holding different political ideologies.

Human rights organisation ARTICLE 19 welcomes the repeal of these laws but holds reservations on the proposed model.

They also call for the repeal rather than amendment of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

"Despite the relaxing of the media licensing requirement, the government still holds powers over the permits of all newspapers, printing presses and publications and can issue bans on media content. If the government is serious about respecting the right to freedom of expression, the PPPA should be repealed altogether,"£ said Dr. Agnes Callamard, ARTICLE 19’s Executive Director.

"Whilst the news of political reform is a boost for freedom of expression in Malaysia, we are reminded of the recent heavy crackdown on peaceful demonstrators at the Bersih 2.0 rally who were calling for fair and clean elections.

The government should demonstrate its commitment for change by releasing those who had been arrested for the peaceful expression of their views and thoroughly investigate the use of violence by the police against the Bersih demonstrators."

I disagree with Matthew Parris on the cuts

I can't link to Matthew Parris' article in Saturday's Times as it is behind a paywall, but it boils down to:

1. We meant to get richer without working harder.

2. The market is giving us a well-deserved spanking.

3. Too many people are doing too little. Many do want to work, but others don't.

I would make the following points.

1. I agree we need cuts, but these are in the wrong areas. While essential services suffer, local and national government waste money elsewhere.

2. It is not true that Britons are either feckless, living beyond their means or

NAO alleges crisis of confidence at Department of Education

The Independent reports:

A climate of fear is operating among civil servants in Michael Gove's Department for Education (DfE), it is claimed.

Almost six out of 10 (59 per cent) do not feel it is safe to challenge the way things are done in the department. In addition, fewer than one in four believes changes introduced in the department are "usually for the better".

The crisis of confidence among civil servants, contained in a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) on the department, come in a week when Mr Gove has been accused of running a "dysfunctional department".

The claim came from his opposite number, Labour's education spokesman Andy Burnham, after it was revealed that senior advisers had resorted to using their private emails to discuss government business after there were leaks from their government emails to the media.

District Line service to Olympia to be curtailed following consultation

London Underground has announced that proposed changes to the District line will go ahead following a public consultation.

The changes, to be introduced in December 2011, will see the withdrawal of the weekday Kensington (Olympia) service and introduction of additional services on the Wimbledon branch.

Nearly 18,000 customers, local business and stakeholders took part in the consultation earlier this year, and around 79% per cent were in favour of the changes.

Transport for London (Tfl) claims that the new timetable will reduce delays and provide capacity for an additional 4,000 passengers every weekday morning on the busy Wimbledon branch, which carries nearly 30 per cent of District line passengers.

In the evening, Tfl say there will be further capacity for more than 800 people on services to Ealing Broadway and an enhanced late evening service on the Wimbledon branch with six trains per hour until 23:30.

The District line Olympia service will continue to operate at weekends and special services will operate to serve major weekday events at the Olympia exhibition centre.

London Overground and Southern services will also continue to serve the station.

During the week passengers can use Barons Court or West Kensington stations, both of which are close to the Olympia Exhibition Centre

There are accessible bus services to High St Kensington (19 mins walk).

Step-free stations are at Earl's Court (District Line only) (8 mins) Hammersmith (around 19 mins walk), Fulham Broadway (31 mins) and Green Park (1 hour 7 mins).

In total eight bus routes serve the Kensington (Olympia) area: 9, 10, 27, 702, 28, C1, 49, 391.

Read London Underground's report into the consultation.

On a different point, it is disgraceful how London Underground seemed to forget that Earl's Court was step-free on the District Line in their press release.

Barn dance to raise funds for London's William Morris Gallery on 28 October

The Friends of the William Morris Gallery are organising a barn dance on Friday 28 October 2011 to raise funds for the £5.2 million Development Project at the William Morris Gallery.

The dance, with The Fiddlestix Ceilidh Band and caller Sarah Pavey, will take place at Wanstead House, 21 The Green, E11 2NT.

Doors and pay bar open from 7pm. Dancing takes pace from 7.30pm to 10.15pm.

Tickets include a ploughman’s supper and can be booked from Ticketsource. Tickets cost £10 in advance (£8 concessions), £12/£10 on the door.

Contact barndance.creativesolutionsATgmail.com or 020 8556 9114 for enquiries and postal booking details.

The venue is 2 minutes walk from Wanstead Tube on the Central Line, where the 66, 145, W12, W13 and W15 buses stop.

Jennifer Davies, organiser of the dance and membership secretary of the Friends, says: "I wanted to combine fundraising with a feel-good factor. A barn dance is great fun and everyone can join in.

"You don’t need any experience, as the caller will guide you through each dance. It’s a social event with broad appeal, which will raise awareness of the work of the Friends and our support for the exciting developments at the Gallery."

The Friends of the William Morris Gallery are a registered charity. Their activities and educational events help support the gallery’s programme and bring together people with similar interests in Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement.

The Friends are committed to raising more than £1 million for the Development Project. Find out more about their activities and how to become a member on their website.

William Morris was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist. He was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement, according to Wikipedia.

Having been myself, I can tell you the William Morris Gallery is well worth a visit, although it is currently closed for redevelopment until July 2012.

Edinburgh, Warwick, Wirral, Lewes and Southwark councils in Private Eye 1298

Residents of Edinburgh, Warwick, Wirral, Lewes and Southwark will want to get hold of a copy of Private Eye 1298, at only £1.50 and out now.

The Rotten Boroughs column on p13 reports on:

*The continuing saga of the Edinburgh tram fiasco and the attempts by the SNP government and the city council leader to prevent a public inquiry until 2014.

*Southwark council writing off £70k paid in error to a drugs charity two years after it went bust.

*Further news about Warwick District Council's pursuit of two disabled pensioners for £13,000 of overpaid council tax benefits they did not owe, including their poor response to a Freedom of Information request.

When one of the pensioners, Jenny Morgan, tried to find out how much the council had spent hounding her, they told her £13.30 - the cost of a return train ticket to Birmingham.

Warwick District Council said the other expenses could not be quantified.

*The vindication of a whistleblower bullied out of his job after revealing overcharging of elderly and vulnerable people by senior council officers at Wirral council.

*Lewes Councillor Donna Edmunds' spat with a constituent on Twitter, whom she called "the village idiot" for disagreeing with her views on NHS privatisation.

Only £1.50.

Patient's care at Swansea hospital 'abject'

BBC News reports:

A patient with severe learning difficulties who died in hospital may have survived if he had received better care, a watchdog has found.

Paul Ridd's nursing care at Morriston Hospital in Swansea was called "abject" and "dire" by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

Mr Ridd, 53, died of respiratory issues after transfer from intensive care.

His family welcomed the report. Managers said procedures had been improved.

Awareness training for all doctors and nurses has been ordered at the hospital.

The ABM University Health Board, which runs the hospital, also said it had already started implementing the recommendations made in Peter Tyndall's report.

Mr Ridd, from Baglan near Neath, suffered severe learning difficulties as a result of brain damage at birth.


He was admitted to Morriston Hospital on 31 December 2008 with a serious bowel problem and underwent surgery.

But following his death on 23 January 2009 his brother and sister complained about many aspects of the way he was looked after.

In particular they were concerned he contracted pneumonia while in intensive care and was transferred prematurely to a general ward, where they said his care was poor in the days before he died of respiratory problems.

His brother Jonathan Ridd said: "When Paul was in the intensive care unit, he had top quality care, like a five star hotel, and when he was moved across the corridor, it felt like we were in a Third World country in terms of care, cleanliness.

"There was no leadership and his observations were not done as instructed."

Mr Ridd said in the last four hours of his life, his brother's carer was "constantly begging" the nursing and medical staff to examine him as his condition had steadily deteriorated.

In a report published on Wednesday, Mr Tyndall said concerns about Mr Ridd's condition after he was transferred to the general ward were raised with staff.

But among his findings were:

A failure of supervision
Inadequate examinations by doctors
A failure to ensure Mr Ridd's care complied with the Disability Discrimination Act.

"Nursing care on the ward was abject," said Mr Tyndall.

"It greatly concerns me that the dire level of nursing care to which [Mr Ridd] was subjected on the ward, could have happened in the 21st Century.

"It is vital that change is robust and long lasting.

"I consider it vital that nursing and clinical care providers respond appropriately to the challenge that patients with learning disabilities present. This did not happen."

Wayne Crocker, director of the learning disability charity Mencap Cymru, said the case should be a "wake-up call" for health professionals in Wales...

How to get Evening Standard webpages to load

Anyone clicking on an Evening Standard link on my blogposts may find the page loads slowly.

When the page displays a white screen for ages, I click the red X next to the address bar and then refresh the page (the arrow where the red X was).

This usually works for me.

Newspaper editor murdered in Mexico

CNN reports:

The editor of a Mexican newspaper was found dead, her body decapitated and with a note next to it, officials said.

Maria Elizabeth Macias Castro, 39, was the editor in chief of the newspaper, Primera Hora.

Her body was found Saturday morning, according to the attorney general's office in the northern Tamaulipas state. A message "attributed to a criminal group" was found next to her, the office said.

"The state government expresses its deepest condolences to the relatives and loved ones affected by these lamentable acts," the office said, adding that it is investigating.

Earlier this month, attackers left ominous threats mentioning two websites on signs beside mutilated bodies in northern Mexico.

A woman was hogtied and disemboweled. Attackers left her topless, dangling by her feet and hands from a bridge in the border city of Nuevo Laredo. A bloodied man next to her was hanging by his hands, his right shoulder severed so deeply the bone was visible.

Signs left near the bodies declared the pair, both apparently in their 20s, were killed for posting denouncements of drug cartel activities.

Flogging of Saudi Arabian women drivers attacked

The sentencing of a Saudi Arabian woman to 10 lashes after she drove a car demonstrates the scale of discrimination against women in the Kingdom, Amnesty International says.

"Flogging is a cruel punishment in all circumstances but it beggars belief that the authorities in Saudi Arabia have imposed lashes on a woman apparently for merely driving a car," said Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Philip Luther.

"Belatedly allowing women to vote in council elections is all well and good, but if they are still going to face being flogged for trying to exercise their right to freedom of movement then the King’s much-trumpeted ‘reforms’ actually amount to very little."

"Saudi Arabia needs to go much further. The whole system of women’s subordination to men in Saudi Arabia needs to be dismantled."

The sentence was passed by a court in Jeddah on September 27.

Two other women are believed to be facing charges for driving, one in Jeddah and one in al-Khobar.

The Minister of Interior has formally banned women from driving in Saudi Arabia since 1990, when a group of women staged a driving protest to challenge a customary ban in place until then.

Earlier this year, the Women2Drive online campaign called on women who hold international driving licences to start driving on Saudi Arabian roads.

The campaign used social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Corporal punishment, particularly flogging, is routinely imposed as a sentence by courts in Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan clamps down on activists

Socialist Worker reports:

The Pakistani state is arresting and torturing union and political activists fighting against displacement from floods, privatisation, mass sackings and non-payment of wages.

Special anti-terror laws are being used against peaceful protesters.

Thousands of workers for the giant KESC electricity firm are engaged in a bitter and protracted struggle to save their livelihoods.

Dozens of KESC union activists remain in custody after being arrested under draconian “anti-terror” laws in late August. Over 40 trade union leaders and activists are in jail facing trial on terrorism charges.

Meanwhile, in Hunza—which is about 900 miles from Karachi, on the border with China—the state is cracking down on these affected by floods.

Landslides caused blockage of the Hunza river in January this year. An artificial lake submerged 13km of the area and displaced thousands of people.

Since then the government has delayed clearing the lake. Anger has grown as the ministers refuse to compensate displaced people.

Now, paramilitary police have the whole area under siege.

Tensions are running high in Hunza after police attacked protesters who blocked a road during a demonstration last month. Two people were killed.

A few days afterwards, a police station was attacked in revenge. Now, paramilitary police are surrounding the whole area arresting innocent civilians.

Text reminders could save the NHS millions

The Independent reports:

The NHS could save tens of millions of pounds each year by sending text message to patients to remind them of hospital appointments.

Patients who are reminded in this way, or by phone, are 34 per cent less likely to miss an appointment than those who are not, according to a systematic review published in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare.

More than 6.5 million outpatient appointments were missed in England last year, at a cost of more than £600m. The worst offenders were patients in their 20s, who accounted for 15 per cent of the total.

Hospital trusts miss out on payments of an average of £100 per missed appointment as they are only paid for patients they see. The review examined 33 studies from countries including the UK, US, Ireland and Australia, and found it cost less than 50p to send a text reminder.

British Government knew Hana Gaddafi was still alive

The Daily Telegraph reports:

Documents found in the British embassy in Tripoli and seen by The Sunday Telegraph show that Hana Gaddafi, supposedly killed 25 years ago, was actually granted a two-year visa to come to Britain as recently as October last year. The UK even paid her application fee.

For the relatives of the Lockerbie victims it is a terrible betrayal. Gaddafi had used Hana’s alleged death, aged 18 months, as a propaganda coup and to suggest to the British families that he too had suffered as they had.

Dr Jim Swire, whose 24-year-old daughter Flora was blown up on Pan Am flight 103, was even shown — by Gaddafi himself — a photograph of Hana, covered in blood and on the verge of death, lying on a hospital trolley. That meeting took place in Tripoli 20 years ago and had a profound effect on Dr Swire and his attitude towards the Libyan dictator.

That the British Government never bothered to inform Dr Swire and the other Lockerbie relatives what really happened to Hana has simply added to the sense of betrayal.

“If the Government knew the story about Hana was phoney then it makes me angry,” said Dr Swire. “The Foreign Office has always kept me in the dark. In an ideal world the CIA and the people from MI6 should have sat down with relatives and said 'we cannot make this public, but this is what really happened’. But nothing of that sort ever happened. That is a source of considerable anger for me.”
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Dr Swire flew to Tripoli in 1991 to persuade Gaddafi to hand over Abdelbaset al-Megrahi for trial for the Lockerbie bombing – still the biggest single terrorist atrocity committed in the UK. Dr Swire, incidentally, no longer believes al-Megrahi is guilty and is convinced of his innocence.

“It may well be Gaddafi was lying when he talked to me about Hana. The fable I was asked to believe was she was killed not outright but that she died of shrapnel injuries. I have no idea if it was true or false,” said Dr Swire.

He had even taken with him on the trip a photograph of Flora at 18 months – the same age as Hana when she was purportedly killed – as a kind of emotional leverage in his appeal to Gaddafi to hand over Megrahi.

With the photograph of Flora, he gave Gaddafi an inscription in English and Arabic which read: “The consequence of the use of violence is the death of innocent people” which was placed on a wall beside a photograph of Hana in what was said to be Hana’s bedroom.

The inscription was still there when Dr Swire revisited Libya last year, though the picture of Hana had been replaced by one of Gaddafi’s mother.

Pam Dix, whose brother died on the Pan Am flight, said: “If the British authorities knew Hana had not been killed it is yet another example of them creating a story to suit themselves. For some unknown reason they decided to allow this mystery to continue. Why was this kept a secret?

“The whole thing smells badly of a cover-up. It is deeply hurtful. The British Government has been buying into Gaddafi’s deceit.”

The emails seen by The Sunday Telegraph detail a visa application on behalf of Hana and Gaddafi’s wife – described in the correspondence as the First Lady – but thought to be his second wife Safia Farkash, his former nurse. Requests were also made five cousins, a family doctor and an Indonesian maid.

The emails were sent between the UK Border Agency and the British embassy in Tripoli on Oct 3 and Oct 5 last year. Hana Gaddafi is described as a daughter of the Libyan leader – and that her visa should be given “gratis”.

Another email stated: “The embassy will pay for two-year visas for Hana and the five cousins but the doctor and maid will be covered by protocol, they will pay for six-month visas.” A subsequent email suggested the “domestic worker” be treated as an “exempt application as part of the Leader’s household”.

It is not clear if Hana Gaddafi ever came to the UK. The Foreign Office and the UK Border Agency said they could not comment on individuals and their whereabouts.

A Foreign Office spokesman said yesterday: “There was no evidence to suggest Hana Gaddafi had not been killed and that the Hana Gaddafi in Tripoli was anything other than a different person. Gaddafi adopted many children and Hana was a common name.”

Dissidents in Libya had maintained for some time that Hana’s reported death was a fabrication. A source at the Libyan embassy in London told The Sunday Telegraph there was only ever one Hana Gaddafi, who is alive and well.

The first inkling that Hana Gaddafi did not die in 1986 came earlier this year, when documents in connection with the seizure of Gaddafi family assets in Switzerland pointed to her existence. The Daily Telegraph found records in the Libyan embassy in London showing a British dentist had been flown to Tripoli in 2008 to treat Hana. A medical certificate in her name was found in the Gaddafi compound after the fall of Tripoli.

And last week, film footage of Hana was found in Libya. The film was made about three years after the American air raid. In the video other members of her family can be heard calling her name.

Hana Gaddafi’s whereabouts are still unclear. It is thought she may be in Algeria with other members of the Gaddafi family.

How Britain wooed,armed and trained Gaddafi's son Khamis

The Daily Telegraph reports:

...the rolling out of the red carpet to Col Gaddafi’s security establishment was no routine diplomatic courtesy.

Documents found by The Sunday Telegraph in the now-abandoned embassy building show that Khamis and his sidekicks were on the guest list not at the behest of Mr Northern, but at the suggestion of the United Kingdom Trade and Industry Defence and Security Organisation (DSO), a Government unit dedicated to promoting British arms exports.

The Khamis Brigade, named after its commander-in-chief and staffed by hard-core Gaddafi loyalists, had proved a lucrative customer.

In 2007, on the sidelines of the infamous “tent deal” between Tony Blair and Col Gaddafi in the Libyan desert, which paved the way for the Lockerbie bomber’s release, the Brigade signed an £85 million contract for a state-of-the-art command and control system from General Dynamics UK, which installed a similar one for the British Army.

The contract, which had Mr Blair’s personal backing, went through despite Khamis being a man whose company generally brought very little “pleasure” to anyone, save, perhaps, for arms dealers.


Like the rest of Gaddafi’s immediate clan, he was a figure of fear among ordinary Libyans, who saw him as a hard man being groomed to take over from his father.

Diplomats, meanwhile, had long known that his 10,000-strong unit — far better equipped than the rest of Libya’s army — was there to keep the First Family in power at all costs.

That assessment proved horrifyingly accurate when the Libyan uprising began in February, as the Khamis Brigade led attempts to crush rebellions in the cities of Benghazi and Misurata.

As the fighting spread to Tripoli last month, the brigade appears to have resorted to all-out terror, culminating in the summary execution of at least 45 prisoners at a warehouse near its barracks on Aug 23.

“Four soldiers climbed on the top of the warehouse, and another soldier opened the door. They started shooting at us,” said Abdulrahim Ibrahim Bashir, who escaped while the brigade reloaded.

“The guy at the door was throwing in grenades. After I escaped, I saw one of the soldiers finish off anyone who was wounded.”

Khamis eventually had a taste of his own medicine: after fleeing south from Tripoli, he is thought to have been killed when an Apache helicopter fired a rocket at his armoured car near the town of Bani Walid.

Had he remained on the run, the next organisation seeking the pleasure of his company would have been The Hague war crimes court, which is already investigating the warehouse massacre and several other mass graves found near his brigade’s HQ.

In the course of that inquiry, there may be questions about why Britain deemed it fit to equip a unit whose name suggested it was a private militia.

Last week, a spokesman for the DSO insisted it “did not export equipment where there is a clear risk it could be used for internal repression”.

But critics allege that, just as in the case of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, whose release in 2009 was linked to lucrative oil deals, the rush to do business with Gaddafi’s regime overrode ethical concerns.

... Nowhere is the eagerness to please more apparent on the British side than in touting the services of the SAS.

As with nearly every strongman regime in the Middle East, Britain’s Special Forces long had an appeal for Libya’s elite, who appear to have been as seduced as anyone by their “Who Dares Wins” reputation.

Documents show that within a year of signing the General Dynamics contract, MoD officials at the highest rank were fielding queries from Gaddafi’s second son, Saif, about Libyan servicemen attending the SAS’s notoriously tough “selection” course.

In a June 2008 letter marked “Restricted — UK/Libya Eyes only”, Maj Gen Robin Searby, the Prime Minister’s defence coordinator to Libya, informed Saif that “regrettably” the course was off-limits to foreigners, and offered him a proposal from a private firm, Arlington Associates, run by two ex-SAS officers.

By January 2009, though, clearance had been given for the SAS to train 50 Libyans, including members of the Khamis Brigade, in weapons skills, field craft and “counter-terrorism”.

Last week, Maj Gen Searby defended the programme. “There was no reason for the British Government not to be involved with Libya at the time, as it was felt that it was better to have them inside the tent rather than outside,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.

He said it had been justified on the basis that the Libyans were woefully behind in counter-terrorism tactics. Yet “terrorism” was always a rather loose term in Gaddafi’s Libya; during first month of the uprising, he branded the rebel movement “al-Qaeda agents”.

Maj Gen Searby added that the programme was eventually abandoned, as the Libyan soldiers “were not up to it”. Yet the high-level contacts continued nonetheless.

Another military delegation was scheduled to see Khamis in April last year, this time including the chief executive of the DSO, Richard Paniguian, who reported to the then business secretary, Lord Mandelson.

Mr Paniguian’s previous job was as vice-president for the Middle East and Africa for BP, which has admitted lobbying for the prisoner transfer agreement that led to Mr Megrahi’s release.

In a private speech in September 2009, obtained by the Campaign Against Arms Trade under the Freedom of Information Act, Mr Paniguian boasted that “high-level political interventions” had enhanced the prospect of arms sales to Libya.

In general, though, the DSO seems to have been adept at keeping its Libya dealings secret — in particular, an invitation sent to Khamis Gaddafi to attend the 2009 Defence and Security Exhibition in London. A letter from Graham Inett, the embassy’s defence attache, warned Tripoli that the Campaign Against Arms Trade had requested the names of all overseas delegates under an FOI request, and asked if Khamis was “content for this information to be disclosed”.

Mr Inett added: “If you are not content, I would ask that you provide me with a formal statement with the reasons, as this will help strengthen the case against release.”

It is perhaps no surprise to learn that the FOI request was turned down, on the basis that naming delegates without their approval “could prejudice Government’s ability to conduct similar business with them in future”.

Only as the “Arab Spring” blossomed this year did relations between the Libyans and their British quartermasters wilt.

In a letter to Tripoli in February, Dr AD Wilson, the head of General Dynamics, railed against a letter of complaint from 32 Brigade, which accused his firm of being behind schedule.

A clue for 32 Brigade’s impatience may lie in the date of its letter: January 15. The day before, the president of neighbouring Tunisia, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, had fled: the first casualty of the revolt that then crossed into Libya.

Soon British planes would be flying sorties against the very units that the British government had helped to train and arm.

Home Office IT project costs more than quadruple

The Evening Standard reports:

The 10-year deal signed by the Passport Agency, part of the Home Office, was supposed to cost between £80 million and £100 million.

But new figures show the final bill for the contract with hi-tech firm Siemens is £365 million - more than four times the initial quote.

Immigration minister Damien Green said: "The increase in costs over the term of the Siemens contract can be attributed to numerous factors including additional demand for passports, enhancements of the IT infrastructure and business processes to accommodate changes in policy, response to changes in security threats and customer service improvements."

Scottish National Party MP Eilidh Whiteford, who unearthed the final cost in a parliamentary question, blamed the previous Labour government for the overspend.

She said: "At a time when household budgets are under real pressure, revelations over how wasteful Westminster has been with taxpayers' money are an absolute scandal.

"Serious questions must be asked about how the cost of the Passport Agency computer system was able to more than treble - and the first of those questions should be raised with the former ministers who signed the contracts.

"As Labour meet for their conference it is incredible that, as the people responsible for pouring this money down the drain, they now try and convince us that they have a credible plan for the economy. People will not be fooled."

The revelation follows the scrapping last week of the disastrous £12 billion NHS IT system, prompting Ms Whiteford to demand the Westminster Government "takes a leaf out of the Scottish government's book on efficiency".

Westfield already beginning to affect Waltham Forest shops

The Waltham Forest Guardian reports:

THE Leytonstone branch of clothes shop Primark has already been affected by the opening of the new Westfield megamall in Stratford and will close in the next few years, reports say...

It comes amid concern from traders in Waltham Forest that competition from the complex, which only opened last week, will damage business in the borough.

According to reports Mr Meager said: "We have a store in Leytonstone, and we have already felt the impact of Stratford on the figures in Leytonstone.”

He added that the branch, in the High Road, would close within three to five years, it is claimed.

The Stratford Westfield centre includes a new Primark and is just two Tube stops from Leytonstone and a short road journey away.

It also includes shops such as HMV, which closed its Walthamstow branch this summer, and other brands with shops in the borough such as River Island.

It is reported that Primark's current strategy means it is considering closing smaller 'satellite' branches in favour of having stores at larger shopping centres.

The Guardian is awaiting a comment from Primark.

This is a concern. What happens if other High Street shops (and independent shops) in Waltham Forest follow suit.

Walthamstow, Leytonstone High Road and Leyton are already infested with run-down corner shops and grim-looking takeaways. The borough must not degenerate further.

Waltham Forest Council and local businesses need to work together to create vibrant, safe and popular High Streets in the borough.

Witnesses sought after object thrown at train window in Staffordshire

The British Transport Police (BTP) is appealing for information after an object was thrown at a train window, damaging the windscreen just after it passed through Meaford level crossing in Stone, Staffordshire on Wednesday, 21 September.

Sergeant Gary Matthews, who is investigating the incident, said: "The train was passing through the area close to Meaford foot crossing, and near to the A520, at 3.48pm, when an unknown object is believed to have been launched at the train from a nearby bridge.

"The windscreen was chipped and the damage has been estimated at a cost of £10,000.

"The railway is such a dangerous environment, trains cannot stop quickly or swerve, and are often not seen or heard until it is too late.

"Trains travelling at top speed can take the length of 20 football pitches to come to a complete stop.

"I am appealing to parents and adults to emphasise the dangers to your children and if you live near the railway, ask yourself if you know where your children are playing."

One would have thought that parents should emphasise the dangers to the people on the train as well.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 quoting background reference B7/NW of 22/09/2011.

Information can also be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Over £1m of public money used to maintain the Diana memorial fountain

The Evening Standard reports:

More than £1 million of public cash has been spent maintaining the Diana memorial fountain, the Standard can reveal.

The circular sculpture in Hyde Park commemorating the Princess of Wales was £2.2 million over its £3 million budget when it opened in 2004 and has been blighted by design flaws.

Now the Evening Standard has learned the total bill for its upkeep has hit seven figures - at a time managers are having to shed staff and reduce the money spent on maintaining the nine royal parks, including Regent's Park and Richmond Park.

Documents obtained under freedom of information laws reveal that the Royal Parks Agency recently ordered a review of the fountain's maintenance in a bid to control costs.

It has spent £120,000 over four years on new sealant linking the fountain's 550 granite blocks after cracks and over-intensive cleaning, which washed away the sealant, left the ground water-logged. Fittings that held the "swoosh" water jets became dislodged, forcing it to be switched off for 18 months to prevent danger to the public.

Royal Parks bosses also found that the footpath around the fountain was not sufficiently hard-wearing for the number of visitors attracted each year and will need to be replaced.

The report said: "There are a number of issues with the fountain ... which were not envisaged at the design stage. These items could be reviewed so as to eliminate/reduce the financial demands."

It predicts the maintenance bill will grow by a further £217,500 by 2015 - excluding the £100,000 annual cost of stewards, cleaning and gardening.

At a time when public services are being cut and hard working people are suffering, surely closing the Diana Memorial fountain would be a much better way to save money?

Why do Matthew Paris and his ilk not suggest that?

Transport changes during the 2012 Olympic games released

The good news:

During the Olympic Games, services will start at the same time as usual, with the exception of Sundays, when London Underground (Tube) and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) will start approximately 30–45 minutes earlier.

During the Olympic Games, the Tube and DLR trains will run up to 90 minutes later than normal on all days, including Sundays. Last trains from central London will leave around 01:30.
National Rail services from London will operate later than normal. Last trains for both suburban and inter-city destinations will leave London termini typically between 00:00 and 01:00.

During the Olympic Games, the Tube will operate additional evening services on the Jubilee, Central and District lines. There will be a late evening peak service from 3 August, when events commence at the Olympic Stadium.
DLR will operate ‘peak’ services all day throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
National Rail will run longer/more frequent trains to most venue stations. This will include the Javelin® shuttle service between St Pancras International, Stratford International and Ebbsfleet stations.

The bad news:

On certain days and at certain times of day during the Games, some stations will operate differently to manage the additional passengers. Measures may include entry only or exit only at some stations, or one way movement within the station. Stations likely to be affected include Stratford, West Ham, Earl’s Court, St Pancras, London Bridge, those in central London close to road event routes on event days and key interchange stations, such as Waterloo.

London Bridge station will be very busy and should be avoided, including interchange, at peak times. These include 7–10am, 12noon–2pm, 4–7pm and 10pm–midnight. National Rail passengers heading into central London should use Cannon Street and Charing Cross instead...

Bank station will be very busy. If you are not attending a Games event at ExCeL or Greenwich, this station should be avoided at peak times. There will be additional trains running to and from Tower Gateway on most afternoons and evenings to assist avoiding Bank.

Pudding Mill Lane station will be closed as it is within the Olympic Park.

Some stations will have different entry and exit arrangements during the Games to ensure the smooth flow of passengers. Confirmed information will be released in spring 2012 and details of specific arrangements will be displayed at affected stations closer to the Games...

Roads will operate differently during the Games to accommodate the Olympic and Paralympic Route Network (ORN / PRN), as well as venues in central London. There will be hotspot areas where traffic will be particularly affected. Information on these will be updated in November 2011 and will be available at tfl.gov.uk/2012.

The ORN, PRN and associated traffic measures will come into operation a couple of days before the Opening Ceremony.

Traffic will be particularly affected within an area bounded by the north and south circular on certain days. If you operate within this area, more information will be available to help you plan from November 2011.

Expect greater delays than usual between the hours of 8am and 7pm. Taxi and minicab companies are being fully briefed on how road operations will be affected, but journeys could take significantly longer than usual.

Games Lanes will be in operation on approximately one third of the ORN and PRN. Non-compliance with Games Lane and parking restrictions on the ORN and PRN will result in a penalty charge.

This isn't going to go well for Londoners, is it?

I can imagine a lot of residents of the capital, as well as many regular commuters into London, will be really angry with the inconveniences they will have to put up with.

From London2012 via diamondgeezer.

Three students could face charges over teenager's suicide

Pink News reports:

New York police are considering charging a number of students over the suicide of a 14-year-old boy.

Jamey Rodemeyer, a student at Williamsville North High School, killed himself last Sunday.

He had suffered homophobic bullying and messages were left on his personal blogs urging him to commit suicide.

Amherst Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is considering charging three students with hate crimes or harassment.

Police Chief John C Askey told Buffalo News: “We’ve heard that there were some specific students, an identifiable group of students, that had specifically targeted Jamey, or had been picking on him for a period of time.

“We’re looking into it to see if he was the victim of any crimes, and that’s the bottom line. We’re going to be speaking to school officials and students and anyone with direct information about crimes that may have been committed against this individual.”

Police have not yet revealed how Jamey killed himself.

The teenager had complained of being targeted by bullies and wrote in a September 9th blog post: “I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens. What do I have to do so people will listen to me?”

He came out as bisexual to close friends last year and recorded an It Gets Better video.

More at Pink News.

Travel disruption in Dorest due to 2012 Olympics works

The Dorset Echo reports:

DRIVERS are facing 10 months of disruption as engineers work on Canford Bottom roundabout.

The Highways Agency has announced the £2.6million project, due for completion in time for the Olympic events in Weymouth next July, will start in early September.

The work will involve up to three months of overnight closures and a 30mph ‘go slow’ zone which will be enforced one kilometre up the A31 on either side of the current bottleneck.

Both Wimborne Road West junctions, Ham Lane and Canford Bottom will all be closed at the roundabout, and drivers travelling west on the A31 will not be able to turn into Uddens Drive.

Overnight work will see the A31 shut down between Merley roundabout and Canford Bottom roundabout, and also between Palmersford roundabout near Trickett’s Cross and Canford Bottom.

Uddens Drive, Forest Link Road, Cobham Road, Station Road and West Moor Road junctions will also be affected.

A Highways Agency spokesman said the 96 overnight hold-ups were unlikely to be consecutive.

Seventy traffic lights will be installed under the scheme, which will see the A31 widened to two lanes on approaches and exits to the roundabout.

Walkers and cyclists on Wimborne Road West will be able to use a toucan crossing to safely get from one side of the A31 to the other.

The changes will shave minutes off travelling times, the agency says...

Waltham Forest Council wastes £15k on fly-tipping case

The Waltham Forest Guardian reports:

A FAILED attempt to prosecute a firm for fly-tipping after one of its boxes was found dumped in a street has been branded a "monumental waste" of taxpayers' money by a judge.

Waltham Forest Council spent nine months and more than £15,000 pursuing 54-year-old Linda Bracey of illumination company Electro Signs in Vallentin Road, Walthamstow, until she was finally cleared this month.

The legal action was launched after a container bearing the company's name was found in a pile of rubbish in Storey Road, Walthamstow, back in October last year.

But staff at Electro Signs occasionally give out boxes to residents who want to reuse them for storage and Mrs Bracey had always maintained that the fly-tipping had nothing to do with her firm.

"The case was absolutely ridiculous," she said. "I don't want our streets full of rubbish and I back the council's tough stance on fly-tipping, but this was frankly bizarre.

"It focused on the issue of whether cardboard boxes were waste or not. If I had been found guilty it could have had huge implications - presumably anyone who wanted to recycle a box could be prosecuted for being a non-licensed waste carrier.

"It's crazy that I was charged under environmental protection laws because we let people recycle our boxes."

A jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court unanimously cleared Ms Bracey, who runs the long-established firm with her husband Chris, on September 7.

"I knew it would be a not-guilty verdict because I hadn't done anything wrong", she said. "The judge [Alex Milne QC] said it was a monumental waste of money and I think the council were just out to make some cash without thinking about it.

"But it has been nine months of hell and anguish. I've tried not to let it get to me but it's been on my mind day and night. It's a relief it's all over."

The council itself was accused of fly-tipping cardboard boxes in November last year. A builder was furious when staff who were distributing the authority's freesheet Waltham Forest News dumped containers in his skip in Leytonstone.

The council blamed a rogue contract worker.

And in February 2010 the authority also came under criticism when it tried to prosecute a woman for fly-tipping when she put up a missing cat poster in Walthamstow. The council later backed down.

Clyde Loakes, a councillor at Waltham Forest, told the Daily Telegraph that the verdict was disappointing.

Unison reveals strike ballot timetable

Socialist Worker reports:

The Unison union, which organises almost half a million workers in the health service, revealed its timetable for action after its health executive met.

Unison will serve notice on employers [this] week, telling them that ballot papers will go out on 11 October.

Voting will close on 3 November—allowing hundreds of thousands of nurses, porters and paramedics to join the mass strike set for 30 November.

Unison leaders told their executive that they had no choice but to prepare for strikes as negotiations with the government over pensions are making no progress.

Liverpool City Council wanted birth certificate in order to process FOI request

David Higgerson reports:

Via whatdotheyknow.com, a Josephine Derby has been submitting a number of FOI requests about things you would suspect senior council officials and councillors might find a little awkward.

She has asked for information about Labour councillors’ expenses, the council leader’s expenses, information relating to the city solicitors and alleged arrests requests by social workers.

Clearly, her FOI requests have set the cat among the pigeons because a Kevin Symm, the senior information officer at the city council, has replied to a number of her requests demanding that she confirms her identity before they reply.

Mr Symm wrote:

Before I can begin to gather the information you have requested I need to be satisfied that the request is a properly made one under Section 8(1) of the Freedom of Information Act.
Section 8(1) requires requesters to use their real name when making a
request, for it to be a valid request.
Before I can commence your request I require you to confirm your real
name.
In the event that your real name is Josephine Derby I will need to see
your birth certificate or deed poll document or other document which
confirms that this is your name.
Please get back to me within 14 days of today’s date with this
confirmation. If we do not hear from you within this time frame, we will
assume you no longer wish to pursue your request or review, and your file will be closed.



Just deed poll or birth certificate then. But is he right say that Freedom of Information Act allows him to demand proof of who someone is?

According to the Information Commissioner - no. Guidance states:

Where a public authority knows that a pseudonym has been used, as a
matter of good practice it should still consider the request, for example
where identity is not relevant and it is content to disclose the
information requested, even though technically the request is invalid.

However, the Information Commissioner won’t consider an appeal if a pseudonym is used – although that does involve the Information Commissioner being aware of a pseudonym being used in the first place.

The Information Commissioner also states that the name of the applicant shouldn’t be a consideration when considering FOI requests unless it’s suspected a fake name is being used to put in multiple FOIs on the same issue, or if it is to disguise someone being vexatious. Neither issue appears to apply in the responses from Kevin Symm.

The Commissioner further advises:

Even when an obvious pseudonym has been used, as good practice a public authority should still consider the request even though technically it can be regarded as invalid. This approach could be adopted in cases where identity is not relevant to the request and, in view of the general principle within the FOIA of disclosure to the world at large, where the authority is content to disclose the information.

Maybe that’s the heart of the problem – Liverpool City Council isn’t content to disclose the information. Either that or they saw Josephine Derby’s whatdotheyknow picture is of a cat – and suspected she wasn’t actually a cat.

Oddly, it appears Josephine Derby is the only person to have this request made of her. Someone called Katie M – so not even a surname there – got a response instantly.

Liverpool City Council retains its place on the FOI naughty step.

London cable car costs rise to £60m

BBC News reports:

I've learnt the cost of the mayor's flagship cable car project has gone up - again.

Initially, Transport for London (TfL) estimated the cost at £25m and said it would use only private finance to pay for it.

Then the estimate increased to £45m, with TfL admitting it would use its own budget.

Now, we find out that figure did not take into account "technical and legal advice, project management and assurance, land acquisition and procurement costs".

TfL says the total cost will now be £60m and it is actually paying for it out of the rail budget.

TfL adds that they "[seek] to recoup the build cost through a combination of sources including a commercial sponsorship, third party funding (via an application to the European Regional Development Fund) and fare revenue."

So, at a time when plans to make Tube stations step-free have been cut back, £60m is being spent on a cable car vanity project.

It's not like it is a long journey from North Greenwich to Royal Victoria.

Take the Jubilee Line to Canning Town (3 minutes) and then change for a Docklands Light Railway train to Royal Victoria (which takes 1 minutes).

What happens if hardly anyone uses it? Or if the European Regional Development Fund application is turned down. And suppose Tfl's discussions with a "potential sponsor" fail?

This cable car is a waste of Londoners' money.

Vile sexism from the Baltimore City Paper

Earlier this week the Baltimore City Paper, in Baltimore, America, published this pathetic article that would have been rejected by Nuts magazine:

Hooray for yoga pants, man. We mean, for dudes it’s the obvious thrill of lowbrow ogling, but for the ladies, too, they rock—best-case scenario they show off your ass, worst case they’re comfortable as shit.

They’re basically sweatpants, except tighter and socially acceptable, right? “Going out” sweatpants, if you will. And nowhere in the metro area will you find more on display than at the Canton Safeway.

Not for sale though, no, see, what we had meant was . . . OK fine, we admit it, this one’s for the shameless pigs out there. Hot females in yoga pants, running rampant in the aisles, there, we said it.

With a bunch of gyms nearby, and, well, Canton all around, Safeway in the early evening is rife with fly honeys clad in formfitting, moisture-wicking goodness, that is to say, women whose interest in physical fitness evinces a preference for clothing that allows for maximum mobility.

Insert obligatory Sir Mix-A-Lot reference, if you please.

Ugh. I doubt that some Baltimore City Readers will be content just with creepy staring, which is unpleasant enough? Was the editor in the toilet when this was put in.

Reminds me of The Wire series 5 which showed the battle for standards at a fictional version of the Baltimore Sun.

Clearly, the Baltimore City Paper is in the gutter looking up at the Sun.

"Fly honeys" "formfitting, moisture-wicking goodness". Yuck. Baltimore needs proper journalism, not hateful tripe.

Couple banned from living in shed

The Daily Mirror reports:

HARD up NHS care worker Victoria Campbell is living in this tiny hut in her parents’ back garden to save money.

But the 20-year-old has been astonished to find her temporary home has been banned by the council. Victoria has lived in the one-bedroom shed with boyfriend Bill Warden for a year while they are saving up for a house deposit.

And the couple are going to appeal against the council’s ruling.

Victoria said: “It’s unfair. We don’t want to live here permanently. We need to save and pay off our debts.

“It is so difficult to get on the ­property ladder these days.”

She added: “My parents have one spare room in their house but it’s barely big enough for a single bed so it’s no use to us.” Victoria, who earns £7.80 an hour, thinks it will take her and senior care assistant Bill five years to raise the £20,000 they may need for a deposit.

But living rent free in the 16ft by 16ft cabin was helping them stash away some cash.

The double-glazed shed in Havant, Hants, was built by Victoria’s mum and dad, Jenny and Colin, for £14,000. It has no running water but is heated by an oil radiator and draws electricity from her parents’ £170,000 three-bedroom terraced house.

Planning officers at Havant council recommended that the couple should be given temporary permission to stay in the shed but councillors disagreed, saying it “did not provide adequate living conditions”.

The couple have nine months to get a new place or they will be fined.

This is ridiculous. The council's reason for refusing to let people live in a shed is that it it “[does] not provide adequate living conditions.”

But if the people are happy to live there, who is it harming? Even the planning officers at Havant council are happy for them to live there.

Are the council worried about being sued later down the line if they said yes?

Detonators stolen from rail line near Coventry

The British Transport Police (BTP) have reported that a number of railway detonators have been stolen from the rail line at Brandon, near Coventry.

The theft is believed to have taken place between about 1.30am and 4.30am on Friday, 23 September, when contractors working along the line near Brandon viaduct noticed the detonators had been taken.

The six detonators, which are safe if handled correctly, are designed to be triggered by impact and emit a loud bang when a train passes over them.

In this instance, they were placed on the track and used by rail staff in order to warn rail maintenance workmen of approaching trains.

The detonators are described as small discs, approximately 5cm in diameter with two lead strips either side.

A typical railway detonator can be seen below.

Sgt Julie Everett, of British Transport Police, said: "The detonators contain mild explosives and emit a loud bang when drivers pass over them, to warn track workers that a train will be coming their way soon.

"They could be very dangerous in untrained hands, particularly young children or teenagers who may see them as a source of fun or entertainment.

"...I would urge anyone who has information that could help us with our enquiries to contact us as soon as possible."

Anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police on freefone 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 49 of 23/09/2011, or alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Campaign to raise awareness of theft from older people to be launched in Aberdeen next week

A campaign called 'Tell Someone' will be launched in Aberdeen on Monday 26 September by the three Adult Protection Committees in Grampian, to raise awareness of the financial harm of vulnerable older people in the North-east of Scotland.

Mo Ramsay, Independent Convener of the Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Adult Protection Committees will welcome delegates to the event being held at Aberdeen Football Club, Pittodrie and outline why financial harm was chosen for the campaign.

She will also provide an overview of further activities planned throughout the year which include advertising and events.

Mo said: "Financial harm is the most prevalent issue within the sphere of adult protection and an example of this is when a friend, relative or carer is stealing money or possessions from an adult who is vulnerable due to their age, or through disability.

"The particular focus for the 'Tell Someone' campaign is around older people who may be less able to protect themselves.

"We want to increase referrals to our teams from this group and we know statistically that the older generation can be targets.

"We want to encourage people to report anything they think is suspicious to their local authority's adult protection team in order that it can be investigated and reduce the prevalence of harm.

"Getting the adult support and protection message across to professionals and members of the public is a huge undertaking and I also want to thank Craig Brown of Aberdeen Football Club for his support.

"There is a long way to go in increasing knowledge and understanding and making improvements in this important area."

The aim of the campaign is to increase awareness of adult protection issues, specifically the financial abuse of older adults.

The launch will be attended by approximately 100 people and will include professionals, volunteers, service users, carers and other interested community representatives.

The launch event will also include a short performance by Out of the Darkness, a theatre company based in Elgin.

The success of the campaign will be measured by an increase in referrals related to older people to the three local authorities in 2011/2012.

Financial harm can generally be classified in two broad categories either through exploitation by a person known, such as a family member, acquaintance, caregiver, person acting with power of attorney or guardian.

Harm can also occur through exploitation by a stranger, including con artists, unscrupulous salesmen or workman, or person representing a bogus charity.

The outcome on older people can be devastating. Many lose large sums of money, lose property they have lived in for years, do not receive benefits to which they are entitled, incur large debts or simply do not have enough money to live on.

It also impacts on people emotionally and mentally leading to depression, anxiety and loss of confidence to live independently.

Explosive device found at Kenyan PM's office earlier this week

Africa News reports:

A massive security operation was launched on Tuesday after what was suspected to be an explosive ordinance was found outside the Kenyan Prime Minister's office. Security sources pointed an accusing finger at the Somali-based al-Shabaab terror group.

A police officer at the scene of the incident told AfricaNews that the device, which is suspected to be a hand grenade, was capable of killing many people and injuring scores of others at the ever busy office.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga was in his office when the device was found. He was holding a meeting with the Kenyan Chief Justice at the time.

However, they were evacuated to an unknown destination, as the police cordoned off the area and begun searching the whole building with the help of sniffer dogs.

Attacks on ambulance staff rise in the Thames Valley

The Oxford Times reports:

DRINK and drugs are responsible for an increase in attacks on ambulance staff, a victim has warned.

In 2009, 60 front line staff from South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SCAS) were assaulted during the course of their work.

Last year that rose to 73, with nine attacks in Oxfordshire.

Ambulance technician Erica Cowley was randomly attacked by a man in May.

The mother-of-three from Witney was waiting in traffic in Oxford’s High Street with her crewmate when a man grabbed her through the open ambulance window and tried to punch her in the face twice.

She said: “A man rushed off the pavement and I was aware of him swearing loudly to himself.

“I didn’t really understand if he was aiming at me.

“He reached through the window and grabbed me and tried to punch me in the face twice.

“Luckily my colleague was able to drive the ambulance away, but as we did he spat at the vehicle. It was later found that he was drunk.”

Ms Cowley said her attack was not typical of those her colleagues are faced with, but drink nearly always played a part.

“Drink and drugs are usually involved. It’s unfortunate, but people are beginning to see it as all part of the job. But it shouldn’t be.

“All of us have joined the ambulance service because we want to help people. All we want to do is do our job,” she said.

All of the service’s new double crewed ambulances are fitted with four cameras, one inside, one over each of the side and rear doors and one in the cab mounted in front of the rear view mirror.

In addition the new ambulances are fitted with three ‘panic strips’ which, when pressed, lock the previous 30 seconds recording, record the incident and then continue recording for two minutes after the incident.

SCAS southern director Mark Ainsworth, described the attacks as ‘disappointing’.

He said: “Our staff are in the community to help and assist those in need and should not become the target of verbal and physical abuse.

“We are doing all we can to protect staff by intervening on calls where staff may be at risk and are also providing training for staff to recognise volatile situations.

“We will pursue those who assault our staff through the courts.”

The South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust covers Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Buckinghamshire.

Free mental health training courses for rugby coaches

Time To Change are offering free mental health training courses for rugby coaches.

With one in four people experiencing a mental health problem in any one year, this is an issue that coaches are likely to come into contact with, and the training is designed to help coaches work with people with mental health problems, and to make training sessions more accessible.

The course has been specifically designed designed for people working in Rugby League, in particular team coaches.

The two hour long training is free, and all trainees will receive a certificate of attendance. Attendees don’t need any previous knowledge of mental health.

The course is delivered in partnership with the Rugby Football League (RFL) and State of Mind, and is approved RFL continuing professional development (CPD) for coaches.

Courses are two hours long and will include:

What is mental health? Different diagnoses and their symptoms, with examples from Rugby League.

Physical impact of mental health problems.

Benefits of exercise for mental health.

Practical guidance and communications tips for coaching players with mental health problems.

Legal requirements of clubs.

Signposting to other sources of help and information.

To book your place or for more information, please contact Lizzie Green, Training Administrator on (07795) 373957 or educationATtime-to-change.org.uk (replace AT with @).

Places are limited so you are advised to book early.

All courses will run from 6.30-8.30pm on the following dates and at the following clubs:

Mon 10th Oct - Widnes

Tue 11th Oct - Saints

Wed 12th Oct - Warrington

Thu 13th Oct - Wigan

Mon 17th Oct - Widnes

Tue 18th Oct - Saints

Wed 19th Oct - Warrington

Thu 20th Oct - Leeds

Thu 20th Oct - Wigan

Thu 20th Oct - Hull

Super complaint filed over foreign currency fees

The Guardian reports:

The Office of Fair Trading is to investigate whether UK holidaymakers are paying too much for foreign currency following a super-complaint by a consumer watchdog.

Consumer Focus issued the complaint after its research discovered customers were charged about £1bn a year for exchanging money.

The report said it was unclear which of these charges were warranted and which were excessive.

"Almost half of us travel abroad every year, and we face a confusing array of hidden charges every time we buy currency," said Mike O'Connor, chief executive at Consumer Focus.

"Converting £500 into euros can cost from less than £10 to more than £30 depending on where you switch your money.

This is a huge difference for essentially providing the same service and, typically, banks offer the worst deal."

The watchdog found British travellers appeared to be losing out in three key areas:

• Charges for using debit or credit cards overseas are unnecessarily complex and confusing; they vary significantly making it difficult for people to establish the full costs and shop around for better deals.

• Banks and credit card providers charge customers cash withdrawal fees when buying travel money with a card in the UK. These do not reflect actual costs – a debit card payment costs on average 9p to process, and a credit card payment 37p, yet charges for buying currency with a card are typically 1.5%-2% of the amount converted (up to a ceiling of £4.50).

• The use of marketing phrases such as "0% commission" and "competitive exchange rates" is misleading and makes it difficult for consumers to make informed choices and compare banks with bureaux de change or the Post Office. The exchange rates include mark-ups levied by suppliers and so are not fee-free as "0% commission" implies...

The British Bankers' Association said it was disappointed that Consumer Focus had not alerted it before issuing the super-complaint to the OFT.

"Competition in the holiday money market is not simply between high street banks: it also involves companies which do not usually provide financial services.

The report acknowledges only 15% of holidaymakers get their foreign currency from a bank," it said in a statement.

"Any analysis of this market needs to take full account of the costs to businesses of providing these services – for instance, the cost charged by foreign ATM providers every time a UK card is used.

Transaction costs abroad are driven by the costs of overseas payment systems, often in countries where free banking does not exist."

Consumer Focus is calling for a simplification of charging structures for using cards overseas; cost-reflective cash withdrawal charges, or even a ban if they are not justified; and a clearer explanation of exchange rates used by suppliers to make comparison easier for consumers.

Drastic and disturbing restrictions to the ability for victims of domestic violence to claim legal aid proposed

Remember Jonathan Djanogly, the legal services minister?

Fleet Street Fox reports on his proposed curbs to the ability for victims of domestic violence to claim legal aid.

He is also in charge of reforms to legal aid, which are mainly aimed at saving money and will therefore mean that unless you can afford to hire lawyers out of your own pocket as Mr Djanogly does there are many ways you will now be stiffed by the justice system.

One of those reforms is to the ability for victims of domestic violence to claim legal aid, which is the only way many people would be able to take action in the family courts against an abuser.

Mr Djanogly says that in order to qualify victims will need to prove the violence took place.

Fair enough, but he will not accept evidence from doctors, the police, witnesses, neighbours, friends or the victim themselves.

No, the only proof he will accept is a previous court finding, which will lead to the insane situation that a victim cannot afford to go to court to get an injunction against their abuser unless they, er, already have such an injunction.

He will also accept a criminal conviction as evidence, but considering the low rates of police reporting and even lower rates of conviction that's about as much use as Nick Clegg's moral compass and twice as screwy.

The reforms mean that the few people - mainly women, mainly mothers, mainly not in work - who get the gumption and lucky break they need to take their abuser to court to protect themselves and their families now won't be able to do it.

A lot of them will carry on being hit and intimidated, their children will suffer, and they will rely more on the already-stretched police, hospitals, social workers and charities whose budgets are all being cut.

In purely financial terms, it will cost us more in the long run.

And more importantly, because of Jonathan Djanogly more women are going to die in a pandemic which nobody notices.

Report bad roadwork sites in London

Transport for London are promoting Report It, an online reporting system for badly organised roadwork sites.

As the site mentions, roadworks in London should:

*Be tidy and safe

*Explain what's happening, including why there is no current site activity if there is none.

*Take up as little road/pavement space as possible

*Have clearly signed diversion routes and be taking place outside peak times as much as possible.

Just click on the map (linked here) to find the problem and the form will generate the address.

Already thirteen issues with roadworks have been reported.

Some have been investigated and some are awaiting investigation.

Department of Health writes to trusts, GPs, over door code breaches

Pulse reports:

The Department of Health (DH) has written to 46 PCTs, 142 GP practices and 12 acute trusts to warn them to take action over ‘inappropriately' stored medical records that have allowed patients' door codes to be printed on the front of envelopes.
Related articles

It was forced to take action after Pulse revealed last month there had been a reported 216 incidences where door codes were printed on the front of patients' letters after having been stored on the Personal Demographic Service, run by NHS Connecting for Health.

The DH launched an investigation and has now admitted there were in fact 882 incidences of the problem, caused when codes for door entry and key safe boxes were wrongly typed into the address fields of records stored on the PDS.

The DH said the problem, which may have placed vulnerable elderly patients at risk, had occurred because NHS staff wanted to ensure they could get to patients needing treatment at home.

A spokesperson said: ‘Since being made aware additional confidential information was being stored inappropriately on the PDS and National Health Applications and Infrastructure Services, we have taken action to ensure this information is removed.'

'We have no evidence this led to security breaches, but it is important it is stopped. Local NHS organisations will decide whether patients or carers need to be contacted to consider whether PIN codes need to be changed.'

Some GPs questioned the security of giving so many staff access to information on the PDS.

Dr Paul Thornton, a GP in Kingsbury, Warwickshire, said: ‘If this system was confidential the keycode recording would be just unfortunate. But because so many people now have access it can never be secure.'

The Stranglers: Always The Sun

This is one of the ten songs I'd take to a desert island. Very soothing:

Lesbian couple accuse Thomson of discrimination on their honeymoon

Pink News reports:

A lesbian couple claim that one of Britain’s largest travel companies discriminated against them on their honeymoon.

Gemma Harman, 24, and Tamsin Harper, 36, from Brighouse, Yorkshire, flew to the Dominican Republican with Thomson following their civil partnership earlier this year.

The couple claim that Thomson treated them differently from other honeymooning couples because they were two women.

Speaking to Real Radio, Ms Harman said straight couples on the same trip were treated “like VIPs” and were given special romantic meals and fruit and rum in their rooms.

She said they tried to book a meal but it was never arranged and staff were “dismissive”.

“They just did not treat us the same as everybody else,” Ms Harman said. “It’s, quite frankly, disgusting in this day and age and I find it ridiculous that people who work for a company that is supposedly gay-friendly can be so rude.”

The couple, along with 60 other guests, were moved to another hotel halfway through the holiday and there were problems with day trips.

Thomson said the couple had been let down but claimed it was nothing to do with their sexual orientation.

A spokesman told Press Association: “Unfortunately we let them down but we let them down as customers.”
He added: “We got the customer service wrong and they are wrong to believe it was anything to do with them personally.

“The holiday didn’t live up to their expectations and it didn’t live up to our standards. But it could have happened to anyone.”

Wolverhampton council restricts chugging

Well done Wolverhampton council!

BBC News reports:

The city council, worried the collectors are putting people off visiting, has warned charities they risk a fine of up to £500.

A spokesman said they could be taken to court if it was found they contravened by-laws introduced last year.

The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) said it was disappointed at the news.

The council has written to the PFRA, the firm which regulates fundraisers, warning it of the situation.

A council spokesman said the warning stemmed from a request made through Twitter, asking for people's thoughts on the fundraisers.


He said the council received a "high level" of responses within a short space of time, which he said was unusual.

The spokesman said the "chuggers" were referred to by one respondent as a "menace" which made them avoid the city centre.

I wouldn't be surprised if footfall (the number of people visiting a shop or a chain of shops in a period of time) increases in Wolverhampton as a result.

Why I hate chugging.