Topline Results - http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=3100
Europeans Remain More Skeptical Than Americans
SOCIETY, SOCIAL MEDIA, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE< GOVERNMENT>JUSTICE - a selective newsfeed
society
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
This is one ringtone you've gotta hear / Sydney Morning Herald, 14 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jend
Last year, a Welsh security company developed the 17-kilohertz buzz to help shopkeepers disperse youngsters loitering in front of their stores. Mr Howard Stapleton, the inventor of the "Mosquito", claims the high-frequency pulsing sound can be heard by most people younger than 20 and almost no one older than 30. Realising the commercial possibilities in the unintended use of the blip, Mr Stapleton's company has quickly produced it's own official version of the ringtone which they are calling the "the authentic Mosquito ring tone". If you're under 20 (or over 20 with very good hearing), you can listen to the blip here. (Hint: in your Windows Media Player, set the option bar to visualisations > bars and waves > bars and at least if you can't hear the sound, you'll be able to see it.) [Brief]
Last year, a Welsh security company developed the 17-kilohertz buzz to help shopkeepers disperse youngsters loitering in front of their stores. Mr Howard Stapleton, the inventor of the "Mosquito", claims the high-frequency pulsing sound can be heard by most people younger than 20 and almost no one older than 30. Realising the commercial possibilities in the unintended use of the blip, Mr Stapleton's company has quickly produced it's own official version of the ringtone which they are calling the "the authentic Mosquito ring tone". If you're under 20 (or over 20 with very good hearing), you can listen to the blip here. (Hint: in your Windows Media Player, set the option bar to visualisations > bars and waves > bars and at least if you can't hear the sound, you'll be able to see it.) [Brief]
UK suspends working holidaymaker visas from Bangladesh / WorkPermit, 13 June 2006
http://www.workpermit.com/news/2006_06_12/uk/bangladesh_visas_suspended.htm
"Effective 07 June, 2006, the British High Commission in Bangladesh will not accept any further applications for the working holidaymaker visa. The decision is technically indefinite, but will be reviewed in six months.The applications for new visas of this category are far outstripping the availability, something that is unprecedented at this current magnitude. The burden on the general visa system by this spike in applications is causing other problems and is draining resources.Working holiday visa applications with fully paid fees that have already been submitted to any UK Visa Application Centre in Bangladesh before 07, June 2006 will processed normally. Applicants who have scheduled a UK TB medical appointment after the suspension date will be contacted by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for cancellation of their appointments.The service is expected to resume at some point, and applicants who wish to apply at that time will need to hold a valid UK TB Health Certificate before applying at any UK Visa Application Centre.No further applications will be accepted until further notice." [Brief]
"Effective 07 June, 2006, the British High Commission in Bangladesh will not accept any further applications for the working holidaymaker visa. The decision is technically indefinite, but will be reviewed in six months.The applications for new visas of this category are far outstripping the availability, something that is unprecedented at this current magnitude. The burden on the general visa system by this spike in applications is causing other problems and is draining resources.Working holiday visa applications with fully paid fees that have already been submitted to any UK Visa Application Centre in Bangladesh before 07, June 2006 will processed normally. Applicants who have scheduled a UK TB medical appointment after the suspension date will be contacted by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for cancellation of their appointments.The service is expected to resume at some point, and applicants who wish to apply at that time will need to hold a valid UK TB Health Certificate before applying at any UK Visa Application Centre.No further applications will be accepted until further notice." [Brief]
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Violent crime back on the rise in U.S. / Globe & Mail,
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060613.VIOLENCE13/TPStory/TPInternational/America/
ALAN FREEMAN
"2005 rates show first significant increase since 1992, FBI spokesman says. Some blame hurricane Katrina. Others say it's the fault of crystal meth, the proliferation of guns or summer temperatures. Violent crime surged in the United States in 2005 after years of decline, and experts are still searching for the cause. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported yesterday that there was a 2.5-per-cent increase in violent crimes in 2005, including a 4.8-per-cent jump in murders. Robberies rose by 4.5 per cent and aggravated assaults were up by 1.9 per cent. The only violent offence to show a decline was forcible rape, down 1.9 per cent from 2004.
The FBI would not give an estimate of the number of homicides committed in 2005, saying that the figures were only preliminary and would not be finalized until the fall."
ALAN FREEMAN
"2005 rates show first significant increase since 1992, FBI spokesman says. Some blame hurricane Katrina. Others say it's the fault of crystal meth, the proliferation of guns or summer temperatures. Violent crime surged in the United States in 2005 after years of decline, and experts are still searching for the cause. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported yesterday that there was a 2.5-per-cent increase in violent crimes in 2005, including a 4.8-per-cent jump in murders. Robberies rose by 4.5 per cent and aggravated assaults were up by 1.9 per cent. The only violent offence to show a decline was forcible rape, down 1.9 per cent from 2004.
The FBI would not give an estimate of the number of homicides committed in 2005, saying that the figures were only preliminary and would not be finalized until the fall."
[Italy] Minister moots 'shooting galleries' / Ansa, 12 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jecd
"Reversing the previous government's zero tolerance approach to drugs, new Welfare Minister Paolo Ferrero said on Monday that Italy could introduce trial drug consumption centres for heroin addicts .Ferrero, who confirmed the government's plans to overhaul Italy's tough new drug law, said he was "not opposed" to the idea of the so-called 'shooting galleries' ."
"Reversing the previous government's zero tolerance approach to drugs, new Welfare Minister Paolo Ferrero said on Monday that Italy could introduce trial drug consumption centres for heroin addicts .Ferrero, who confirmed the government's plans to overhaul Italy's tough new drug law, said he was "not opposed" to the idea of the so-called 'shooting galleries' ."
Go West: Poles and Balts Head for British Isles / Brussels Journal,
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1112
"According to the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza over 2 million Poles may have emigrated to find work in Western Europe since Poland joined the EU on May 1st, 2004. In July 2004 the Polish population was estimated to be 38.6 million. British demographers, such as Prof. David Coleman of Oxford University, say that the Poles are arriving in Britain in historic record numbers. “From one country in a very short space of time, it must be the largest influx we have ever seen,” Coleman says. Professor John Salt of University College London calls the phenomenon “unprecedented.”
"According to the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza over 2 million Poles may have emigrated to find work in Western Europe since Poland joined the EU on May 1st, 2004. In July 2004 the Polish population was estimated to be 38.6 million. British demographers, such as Prof. David Coleman of Oxford University, say that the Poles are arriving in Britain in historic record numbers. “From one country in a very short space of time, it must be the largest influx we have ever seen,” Coleman says. Professor John Salt of University College London calls the phenomenon “unprecedented.”
Don't grass, take responsibility / Spiked Online,
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/388/
Josie Appleton
"The UK government's latest leaked initiative for dealing with antisocial behaviour seems designed to turn us into a nation of squealers. UK home secretary John Reid has backpedalled on an antisocial behaviour initiative with the slogan: ‘Don’t moan, take action – it’s your street too.’ The leaked initiative was greeted with howls of derision, and protests that Reid was apparently asking the public to deal with bad behaviour. ‘How dare you blame us for rising crime’, blustered the Daily Express. David Davis, shadow home secretary, said it was ‘brazen beyond belief for the government to turn around and try to shift responsibility on to the shoulders of the public’. But that was the last problem with the initiative-that-wasn’t. We do indeed need a society where people are prepared to pitch in and deal with bad behaviour. We should all take more responsibility for what goes on around us - not because we owe it to Reid, but because we owe it to ourselves as citizens."
Josie Appleton
"The UK government's latest leaked initiative for dealing with antisocial behaviour seems designed to turn us into a nation of squealers. UK home secretary John Reid has backpedalled on an antisocial behaviour initiative with the slogan: ‘Don’t moan, take action – it’s your street too.’ The leaked initiative was greeted with howls of derision, and protests that Reid was apparently asking the public to deal with bad behaviour. ‘How dare you blame us for rising crime’, blustered the Daily Express. David Davis, shadow home secretary, said it was ‘brazen beyond belief for the government to turn around and try to shift responsibility on to the shoulders of the public’. But that was the last problem with the initiative-that-wasn’t. We do indeed need a society where people are prepared to pitch in and deal with bad behaviour. We should all take more responsibility for what goes on around us - not because we owe it to Reid, but because we owe it to ourselves as citizens."
Web of Terror / Newsweek, 12 June 2006
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13283051/site/newsweek/
Mark Hosenball
"Zarqawi may be gone, but North American and European investigators are continuing to investigate strands of an online global network of radical, self-recruiting and self-indoctrinating jihadi cells."
Mark Hosenball
"Zarqawi may be gone, but North American and European investigators are continuing to investigate strands of an online global network of radical, self-recruiting and self-indoctrinating jihadi cells."
Monday, June 12, 2006
[Australia] Prisoners to be offered lessons on finding jobs / Sydney Morning Herald, 13 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jdwm
Stephanie Peatling
"PRISON inmates will be offered intensive job counselling and help with housing and overcoming substance abuse as part of a new plan by the Federal Government to prevent recidivism. The Minister for Workforce Participation, Sharman Stone, has told members of the Job Network to go into jails to offer prisoners the same employment services as anybody else."
Stephanie Peatling
"PRISON inmates will be offered intensive job counselling and help with housing and overcoming substance abuse as part of a new plan by the Federal Government to prevent recidivism. The Minister for Workforce Participation, Sharman Stone, has told members of the Job Network to go into jails to offer prisoners the same employment services as anybody else."
[Canada] Multiculturalism needs examination, experts say / Canada.com, 12 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jdwd
Chris Cobb
''We have to be far more proactive in making sure the integration process is complete,'' he says, ''and make sure that people don't develop values that are hostile (to Canada). In practice that would mean things like taking a closer look at the curriculum of private Muslim schools, watching mosques and getting into the issue of whether imams should be bilingual and trained in Canada, instead of in countries like Pakistan.''
Chris Cobb
''We have to be far more proactive in making sure the integration process is complete,'' he says, ''and make sure that people don't develop values that are hostile (to Canada). In practice that would mean things like taking a closer look at the curriculum of private Muslim schools, watching mosques and getting into the issue of whether imams should be bilingual and trained in Canada, instead of in countries like Pakistan.''
Working with Alcohol Misusing Offenders – a strategy for delivery / NOMS,
PDF - http://digbig.com/4jdrk
"The Strategy will give the Probation Service a coherent approach to tackling alcohol misuse which is evidence-based. It contains a number of actions for the centre and recommendations for areas to improve provision. In developing the strategy, we have worked closely with colleagues in the Community Integration Unit (CIU) and Drug Strategy Unit (DSU)2 of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA), as well as other key stakeholders e.g. Alcohol Concern."
"The Strategy will give the Probation Service a coherent approach to tackling alcohol misuse which is evidence-based. It contains a number of actions for the centre and recommendations for areas to improve provision. In developing the strategy, we have worked closely with colleagues in the Community Integration Unit (CIU) and Drug Strategy Unit (DSU)2 of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA), as well as other key stakeholders e.g. Alcohol Concern."
Dutch Fear Muslim Reaction to Hirsi Ali’s Gay Movie / Brussels Journal, 9 June 2006
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1110
Paul Belien
"The Dutch authorities fear that “Submission 2,” Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s soon to be released new movie, might make the Netherlands a target of angry Muslims worldwide. The movie criticizes Muslims for their intolerance of gays. In a report published last Wednesday the country’s National Anti-Terrorism Coordinator (Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding, NCTb) warns that one must seriously take into account the possibility of an international Muslim boycott of the Netherlands, similar to the boycott of Denmark by the Islamic world earlier this year over the Muhammad cartoons."
Paul Belien
"The Dutch authorities fear that “Submission 2,” Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s soon to be released new movie, might make the Netherlands a target of angry Muslims worldwide. The movie criticizes Muslims for their intolerance of gays. In a report published last Wednesday the country’s National Anti-Terrorism Coordinator (Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding, NCTb) warns that one must seriously take into account the possibility of an international Muslim boycott of the Netherlands, similar to the boycott of Denmark by the Islamic world earlier this year over the Muhammad cartoons."
Still a serious threat from Al Qaeda: its ideas / The Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2006
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0612/p11s01-woiq.html
Peter Grier and Faye Bowers
"How Al Qaeda inspires the disaffected may be its most potent weapon - more so than people like Zarqawi. The beliefs that inspired these men are far more difficult to counter. Both the Canadian cell and Mr. Zarqawi were self-motivated - not direct recruits of the bin Laden organization. Experts say it thus may be important to remember that the biggest threat from Al Qaeda is not its people, but its ideas, and the manner in which they inspire the disaffected and angry in Muslim communities worldwide."
Peter Grier and Faye Bowers
"How Al Qaeda inspires the disaffected may be its most potent weapon - more so than people like Zarqawi. The beliefs that inspired these men are far more difficult to counter. Both the Canadian cell and Mr. Zarqawi were self-motivated - not direct recruits of the bin Laden organization. Experts say it thus may be important to remember that the biggest threat from Al Qaeda is not its people, but its ideas, and the manner in which they inspire the disaffected and angry in Muslim communities worldwide."
Next target: Zarqawi's global web / The Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2006
Scott Peterson
"The slain leader was developing a wider terror network, particularly in Europe. American investigators are exploiting the intelligence bonanza found in the rural safe house north of Baghdad where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed. Analysts say that the memory sticks, hard drives, and documents found there and at some 56 other sites raided after the Jordanian militant's death are likely to damage Mr. Zarqawi's networks. The US military describes the finds as a "treasure trove. The new intelligence leads could uncover terrorist operations far afield from Iraq - particularly in Europe - as Zarqawi had begun to piece together a much wider network of militants, experts say."
"The slain leader was developing a wider terror network, particularly in Europe. American investigators are exploiting the intelligence bonanza found in the rural safe house north of Baghdad where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed. Analysts say that the memory sticks, hard drives, and documents found there and at some 56 other sites raided after the Jordanian militant's death are likely to damage Mr. Zarqawi's networks. The US military describes the finds as a "treasure trove. The new intelligence leads could uncover terrorist operations far afield from Iraq - particularly in Europe - as Zarqawi had begun to piece together a much wider network of militants, experts say."
Why, for some, rebellion turns to violence / The Christian Science Monitor,
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0612/p06s01-woam.html
Rebecca Cook Dube
"Strong mentors and issues that hit close to home may have had role in Canada plot. Grievances take root in a culture where boys and young men are primed for violence by years of social conditioning, says a criminologist at Michigan State University who has studied urban violence in Detroit for decades. He says that he sees more similarities than differences in the angry young African-American men who join gangs and the angry young Muslim men who join the jihad movement."
Rebecca Cook Dube
"Strong mentors and issues that hit close to home may have had role in Canada plot. Grievances take root in a culture where boys and young men are primed for violence by years of social conditioning, says a criminologist at Michigan State University who has studied urban violence in Detroit for decades. He says that he sees more similarities than differences in the angry young African-American men who join gangs and the angry young Muslim men who join the jihad movement."
Amid this panic over stabbings, we are ignoring what really cuts crime / Guardian, 9 June 2006
http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1793618,00.html
Polly Toynbee
"Tucked away in the Cabinet Office's own strategic audit is the kind of evidence the prime minister should be poring over. Unpublished Home Office research assessing the cost-effectiveness of ways to reduce crime has produced astonishing results. But has anyone heard of it? Why doesn't Labour talk about its most successful programmes? Prison numbers will go on rising until politicians stop running scared of the Daily Mail and start talking about what really works. "
Polly Toynbee
"Tucked away in the Cabinet Office's own strategic audit is the kind of evidence the prime minister should be poring over. Unpublished Home Office research assessing the cost-effectiveness of ways to reduce crime has produced astonishing results. But has anyone heard of it? Why doesn't Labour talk about its most successful programmes? Prison numbers will go on rising until politicians stop running scared of the Daily Mail and start talking about what really works. "
Consultation: Should police require citizens to disclose encrypted data? / Public Technology, 12 June 2006
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=5174
The Home Office has issued a consultation on the law enabling the police to require people to disclose their encrypted data in an intelligible form or to disclose their keys to the data is Part III of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. If you’re involved as an ICT professional in criminal justice IT, or work with the Police & this could effect you, then get involved in the consultation and comment on the proposals.
The consultation closes on 30 August 2006. PDF -
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-2006-ripa-part3/ripa-part3.pdf?view=Binary
The Home Office has issued a consultation on the law enabling the police to require people to disclose their encrypted data in an intelligible form or to disclose their keys to the data is Part III of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. If you’re involved as an ICT professional in criminal justice IT, or work with the Police & this could effect you, then get involved in the consultation and comment on the proposals.
The consultation closes on 30 August 2006. PDF -
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-2006-ripa-part3/ripa-part3.pdf?view=Binary
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Implementation of the New Prison Library Specification / National Foundation for Educational Research, 2006
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR748.pdf
Richard White, Karen Halsey, Kerry Martin and Megan Jones
Richard White, Karen Halsey, Kerry Martin and Megan Jones
Cracking down on crime / Law Gazette, 8 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jdnn
Rachel Rothwell
"As head of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Sir Stephen Lander pledges to get tough with dodgy solicitors. But will his enforcement duties clash with his role as a Law Society watchdog? The new Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) is a very discreet establishment. There is no address listed on its Web site, and the building that houses it – based in Westminster, London, but the agency prefers the press not to reveal the exact location – gives no indication of the multi-million pound crime fighting agency at work behind its doors."
Rachel Rothwell
"As head of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Sir Stephen Lander pledges to get tough with dodgy solicitors. But will his enforcement duties clash with his role as a Law Society watchdog? The new Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) is a very discreet establishment. There is no address listed on its Web site, and the building that houses it – based in Westminster, London, but the agency prefers the press not to reveal the exact location – gives no indication of the multi-million pound crime fighting agency at work behind its doors."
[Pakistan] Report on missing passports sought from embassies / Daily times, 11 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jdnk
Maryam Hussain
"The Foreign Office has directed 10 Pakistani ambassadors, including those in the United Kingdom and the United States, to provide details about hundred of thousands of passports that have gone “missing” from the premises of these embassies over the last five years. Sources in the Foreign Office have claimed that presently the Foreign Ministry has no record of stolen and missing passports, although the auditor general of Pakistan had indicated irregularities in the issuance of passports abroad in the past. Sources said the FO bureaucracy did not give any importance to the AGP findings. They said that passports were missing from 10 Pakistani embassies. Officials documents available with Daily Times revealed that the Foreign Office had directed its ambassadors in Spain, the UK, the USA, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Portugal, Oman, Qatar and Canada to furnish details about the numbers of passports that disappeared over the last five years. Sources claimed that a strong fear was being expressed in Islamabad that the passports might land in the hands of ‘terrorists’ and subsequently bring more troubles to Pakistan, whose track record is already very poor at the international level." [Brief]
Maryam Hussain
"The Foreign Office has directed 10 Pakistani ambassadors, including those in the United Kingdom and the United States, to provide details about hundred of thousands of passports that have gone “missing” from the premises of these embassies over the last five years. Sources in the Foreign Office have claimed that presently the Foreign Ministry has no record of stolen and missing passports, although the auditor general of Pakistan had indicated irregularities in the issuance of passports abroad in the past. Sources said the FO bureaucracy did not give any importance to the AGP findings. They said that passports were missing from 10 Pakistani embassies. Officials documents available with Daily Times revealed that the Foreign Office had directed its ambassadors in Spain, the UK, the USA, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Portugal, Oman, Qatar and Canada to furnish details about the numbers of passports that disappeared over the last five years. Sources claimed that a strong fear was being expressed in Islamabad that the passports might land in the hands of ‘terrorists’ and subsequently bring more troubles to Pakistan, whose track record is already very poor at the international level." [Brief]
POLAND'S CRACKDOWN ON GAY GROUPS : a criminal probe, and Warsaw Pride threatened with violence / ZNet, 9 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jdnh
Doug Ireland
"Poland's state prosecutor last week announced a government investigation of all Polish gay groups for illegal financing, criminal connections, and pedophilia. This crackdown on gay groups is only the latest in a series of disturbing developments in Poland during the last month that illustrate the continuing rise of political homophobia under the country's new gay-hostile government."
Doug Ireland
"Poland's state prosecutor last week announced a government investigation of all Polish gay groups for illegal financing, criminal connections, and pedophilia. This crackdown on gay groups is only the latest in a series of disturbing developments in Poland during the last month that illustrate the continuing rise of political homophobia under the country's new gay-hostile government."
Berlin's embrace of immigrants a success / WASHINGTON TIMES, 11 June 2006
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20060610-104928-1292r.htm
Norman Levine
"Contemporary Berlin is a case study in the strategies of social peace. Earlier in the year, Paris was rocked by violent urban disorder, but for the past 25 years both the Federal Government of Germany and the city government of Berlin have initiated programs that make the metropolis a model in the engineering of social integration. Berlin has 3.3 million people, it has an immigrant population of 500,000, and the largest immigrant group is Islamic Turks. Until 1989, the city was divided by a wall built by Communist East Germany to prevent contact between East and West. After the November 1989 collapse of the wall, the federal and municipal governments acted creatively to prevent construction of an "Ethnic Wall," and Berlin is today an example of the tactics of ethnosocial assimilation. "
Norman Levine
"Contemporary Berlin is a case study in the strategies of social peace. Earlier in the year, Paris was rocked by violent urban disorder, but for the past 25 years both the Federal Government of Germany and the city government of Berlin have initiated programs that make the metropolis a model in the engineering of social integration. Berlin has 3.3 million people, it has an immigrant population of 500,000, and the largest immigrant group is Islamic Turks. Until 1989, the city was divided by a wall built by Communist East Germany to prevent contact between East and West. After the November 1989 collapse of the wall, the federal and municipal governments acted creatively to prevent construction of an "Ethnic Wall," and Berlin is today an example of the tactics of ethnosocial assimilation. "
Saturday, June 10, 2006
SOME HIJACKERS STILL ALIVE / Blog, 10 June 2006
http://domorethanhope.blogspot.com/2006/06/some-hijackers-still-alive.html
Hijack 'suspects' alive and well
http://www.prisonplanet.com/hijack_suspects_alive_and_well.htmBBC
"Waleed Al Shehri left the US a year ago, he saysAnother of the men named by the FBI as a hijacker in the suicide attacks on Washington and New York has turned up alive and well. The identities of four of the 19 suspects accused of having carried out the attacks are now in doubt.Saudi Arabian pilot Waleed Al Shehri was one of five men that the FBI said had deliberately crashed American Airlines flight 11 into the World Trade Centre on 11 September. His photograph was released, and has since appeared in newspapers and on television around the world."
Hijack 'suspects' alive and well
http://www.prisonplanet.com/hijack_suspects_alive_and_well.htmBBC
"Waleed Al Shehri left the US a year ago, he saysAnother of the men named by the FBI as a hijacker in the suicide attacks on Washington and New York has turned up alive and well. The identities of four of the 19 suspects accused of having carried out the attacks are now in doubt.Saudi Arabian pilot Waleed Al Shehri was one of five men that the FBI said had deliberately crashed American Airlines flight 11 into the World Trade Centre on 11 September. His photograph was released, and has since appeared in newspapers and on television around the world."
Canadian Anti-Terror Law on Trial: The Toronto Terrorism Arrests / Jurist Forum,
http://digbig.com/4jdjg
Kent Roach of the University Toronto Faculty of Law
"The proceedings against the 17 Canadian men and youths recently charged with terrorism-related offenses in Ontario will put Canada's new Anti-Terrorism Act to its first real test..."
Kent Roach of the University Toronto Faculty of Law
"The proceedings against the 17 Canadian men and youths recently charged with terrorism-related offenses in Ontario will put Canada's new Anti-Terrorism Act to its first real test..."
UN reports drop in refugees, increase in internally displaced people / Jurist PaperChase, 10 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jdjf
Holly Manges Jones
"The number of worldwide refugees reached its lowest number since 1980 [UNHCR press release] in 2005, but the overall number of internally displaced people in the world has increased dramatically, according to a report [text, PDF] released Friday by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) [official website]. In 2005, 8.4 million people were counted as refugees, which is a drop from 9.5 million in 2004. However, the number of displaced people due to internal country conflicts increased from 5.4 million in 13 countries in 2004 to 6.6 million in 16 countries in 2005. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres [official profile] cited Darfur, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo [JURIST news archives] as countries with high displacement rates that must work to remedy the situation. UNHCR officials continue to attribute the decline in asylum seekers [Reuters report] to the imposition of tighter asylum restrictions in industrialized countries [JURIST report].The UNHCR report counts 20.8 million people as the total population of concern in 2005, which includes refugees, internally displaced people, returned refugees, returned displaced individuals, asylum seekers, and stateless individuals. Five countries top the list of concern - Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Sudan, and Somalia. The Angola Press has more. [Brief]
Holly Manges Jones
"The number of worldwide refugees reached its lowest number since 1980 [UNHCR press release] in 2005, but the overall number of internally displaced people in the world has increased dramatically, according to a report [text, PDF] released Friday by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) [official website]. In 2005, 8.4 million people were counted as refugees, which is a drop from 9.5 million in 2004. However, the number of displaced people due to internal country conflicts increased from 5.4 million in 13 countries in 2004 to 6.6 million in 16 countries in 2005. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres [official profile] cited Darfur, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo [JURIST news archives] as countries with high displacement rates that must work to remedy the situation. UNHCR officials continue to attribute the decline in asylum seekers [Reuters report] to the imposition of tighter asylum restrictions in industrialized countries [JURIST report].The UNHCR report counts 20.8 million people as the total population of concern in 2005, which includes refugees, internally displaced people, returned refugees, returned displaced individuals, asylum seekers, and stateless individuals. Five countries top the list of concern - Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Sudan, and Somalia. The Angola Press has more. [Brief]
[Netherlands] Forced marriages ‘occur frequently’, says report / Expatica, 9 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jdhg
"Forced marriage is a serious breach of the personal integrity of the victim,’ the commission said in a report.Forced marriage was not an isolated phenomenon but part of a broader pattern that included domestic violence, honour-related violence and the abandonment of women in the country of origin. Victims of forced marriage should be assigned a case manager whose task it is to ensure that they receive the appropriate assistance, the report said. An overview of the assistance being given to victims of forced marriage should also be available through a secure electronic network, so that the activities of different help organizations can be better coordinated, the commission said." [Brief]
"Forced marriage is a serious breach of the personal integrity of the victim,’ the commission said in a report.Forced marriage was not an isolated phenomenon but part of a broader pattern that included domestic violence, honour-related violence and the abandonment of women in the country of origin. Victims of forced marriage should be assigned a case manager whose task it is to ensure that they receive the appropriate assistance, the report said. An overview of the assistance being given to victims of forced marriage should also be available through a secure electronic network, so that the activities of different help organizations can be better coordinated, the commission said." [Brief]
Pentagon sets its sights on social networking websites / New Scientist, 9 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jdhf
Paul Marks
"I AM continually shocked and appalled at the details people voluntarily post online about themselves." So says Jon Callas, chief security officer at PGP, a Silicon Valley-based maker of encryption software. He is far from alone in noticing that fast-growing social networking websites such as MySpace and Friendster are a snoop's dream.
New Scientist has discovered that Pentagon's National Security Agency, which specialises in eavesdropping and code-breaking, is funding research into the mass harvesting of the information that people post about themselves on social networks. And it could harness advances in internet technology - specifically the forthcoming "semantic web" championed by the web standards organisation W3C - to combine data from social networking websites with details such as banking, retail and property records, allowing the NSA to build extensive, all-embracing personal profiles of individuals."
Paul Marks
"I AM continually shocked and appalled at the details people voluntarily post online about themselves." So says Jon Callas, chief security officer at PGP, a Silicon Valley-based maker of encryption software. He is far from alone in noticing that fast-growing social networking websites such as MySpace and Friendster are a snoop's dream.
New Scientist has discovered that Pentagon's National Security Agency, which specialises in eavesdropping and code-breaking, is funding research into the mass harvesting of the information that people post about themselves on social networks. And it could harness advances in internet technology - specifically the forthcoming "semantic web" championed by the web standards organisation W3C - to combine data from social networking websites with details such as banking, retail and property records, allowing the NSA to build extensive, all-embracing personal profiles of individuals."
News Analysis: Eliminating the face of insurgency / The New York Times, 8 June 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/08/news/assess.php
Dexter Filkins
"By finally putting an end to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the American military and its Iraqi allies have killed the one man who put a face on the Iraqi insurgency. The question looming over his death is how large a blow his elimination deals to the guerrilla movement he helped drive to such bloody limits. The likely answer, according to American and Iraqi officials and experts who have been following Zarqawi for months: His death could significantly degrade the ability of his group, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, to launch suicide and car bomb attacks - and possibly set off a bloody struggle to succeed him. But the insurgency and sectarian war he helped ignite will carry on."
Dexter Filkins
"By finally putting an end to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the American military and its Iraqi allies have killed the one man who put a face on the Iraqi insurgency. The question looming over his death is how large a blow his elimination deals to the guerrilla movement he helped drive to such bloody limits. The likely answer, according to American and Iraqi officials and experts who have been following Zarqawi for months: His death could significantly degrade the ability of his group, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, to launch suicide and car bomb attacks - and possibly set off a bloody struggle to succeed him. But the insurgency and sectarian war he helped ignite will carry on."
Zarqawi: Death of a terrorist / The New York Times, 8 June 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/08/opinion/edzarq.php
"As Americans discovered earlier, after Saddam Hussein's two sons were killed and the Iraqi dictator himself was arrested, it will take far more than the elimination of a handful of iconic leaders to stem the tide of the Iraqi insurgency and reverse the country's alarming slide into civil war. It will take, most of all, the consolidation of an effective Iraqi government of national unity that can win the loyalty of the overwhelming majority of Iraq's Shiites, Kurds and Sunni Arabs by respecting their religious and ethnic diversity, protecting their personal security and assuring them the essentials of modern life. These include, at a minimum, reliable electricity, decent hospitals and schools and a functioning economy that generates adequate employment. "
"As Americans discovered earlier, after Saddam Hussein's two sons were killed and the Iraqi dictator himself was arrested, it will take far more than the elimination of a handful of iconic leaders to stem the tide of the Iraqi insurgency and reverse the country's alarming slide into civil war. It will take, most of all, the consolidation of an effective Iraqi government of national unity that can win the loyalty of the overwhelming majority of Iraq's Shiites, Kurds and Sunni Arabs by respecting their religious and ethnic diversity, protecting their personal security and assuring them the essentials of modern life. These include, at a minimum, reliable electricity, decent hospitals and schools and a functioning economy that generates adequate employment. "
The Short, Violent Life of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi / The Atlantic Monthly, July/August 2006
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200607/zarqawi
Mary Anne Weaver
"How a video-store clerk and small-time crook reinvented himself as America’s nemesis in Iraq." [Edited for the Web, June 8, 2006]
Mary Anne Weaver
"How a video-store clerk and small-time crook reinvented himself as America’s nemesis in Iraq." [Edited for the Web, June 8, 2006]
T.O. TERROR CELL'S DISORGANIZED CRIME / Maisonneuve, 8 June 2006
http://maisonneuve.org/index.php?&page_id=12&article_id=2293
Philippe Gohier
"As journalists and Canadians alike begin to recover from the initial shock of last weekend’s terrorist sweep, the tone in today’s cycle insofar as the Canadian terror cell is concerned seems largely to have shifted. All week, Canadians have been bombarded with grim reports speculating on a variety of terrifying plots, which had been planned under their noses and included beheadings, bombings and open-air shooting into civilian crowds. However, some items in today’s news cycle suggest that the threat may have been unfairly amplified."
Philippe Gohier
"As journalists and Canadians alike begin to recover from the initial shock of last weekend’s terrorist sweep, the tone in today’s cycle insofar as the Canadian terror cell is concerned seems largely to have shifted. All week, Canadians have been bombarded with grim reports speculating on a variety of terrifying plots, which had been planned under their noses and included beheadings, bombings and open-air shooting into civilian crowds. However, some items in today’s news cycle suggest that the threat may have been unfairly amplified."
The value of everything / CIPFA, 9 June 2006
http://www.cipfa.org.uk/publicfinance/news_details.cfm?news_id=27836
Colin Talbot
"There is a new phrase percolating slowly through the policy and public management community in the UK: public value. Is ‘public value’ a useful tool for democratising public services – or a load of airy-fairy nonsense? Sets out the case for taking it seriously."
Colin Talbot
"There is a new phrase percolating slowly through the policy and public management community in the UK: public value. Is ‘public value’ a useful tool for democratising public services – or a load of airy-fairy nonsense? Sets out the case for taking it seriously."
Engaging communities to tackle crack cocaine-related harm : A review of the literature / KCL, June 2006
PDF - http://digbig.com/4jdhe
Russell Webster ; Professor Mike Hough
Russell Webster ; Professor Mike Hough
Friday, June 09, 2006
Legionnaires' deaths: Council architect 'cancelled tests / 24 Dash, 9 June 2006
'http://www.24dash.com/news/2/6695/index.htm
"An architect caused the death of seven people from Legionnaires' Disease by failing to safely maintain an ageing air-conditioning system, a court heard.
"An architect caused the death of seven people from Legionnaires' Disease by failing to safely maintain an ageing air-conditioning system, a court heard.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
System criminalising those with mental health problems / Irish Medical Times, 9 June 2006
http://www.imt.ie/displayarticle.asp?AID=10988&NS=1&SID=1
Marese Fagan
"In the third series of articles on mental health, in association with Schizophrenia Ireland, reports that the fraught relationship between mental health services and the prison services is stretched by the large number of prisoners with mental health needs There is strong evidence to suggest that a certain proportion of people with a mental illness are being criminalised, as a result of inadequacies in the current forensic mental health services, and flaws within our health and justice system."
Marese Fagan
"In the third series of articles on mental health, in association with Schizophrenia Ireland, reports that the fraught relationship between mental health services and the prison services is stretched by the large number of prisoners with mental health needs There is strong evidence to suggest that a certain proportion of people with a mental illness are being criminalised, as a result of inadequacies in the current forensic mental health services, and flaws within our health and justice system."
Terrorism Focus, Volume 3, Issue 22 (June 6, 2006)
BRIEFS
Toronto's Terrorist Conspiracy
Andrew McGregor
Malaysia Announces the Arrest of 12 Darul Islam Members
Zachary Abuza
Kurdish Officials Provide Information on al-Qaeda Operatives in Custody
Lydia Khalil
Morocco Cracks Down on Islamist Opposition Group JSA
Chris Zambelis
Toronto, London and the Jihadi Spring: Bin Laden as Successful Instigator
Michael Scheuer
Toronto's Terrorist Conspiracy
Andrew McGregor
Malaysia Announces the Arrest of 12 Darul Islam Members
Zachary Abuza
Kurdish Officials Provide Information on al-Qaeda Operatives in Custody
Lydia Khalil
Morocco Cracks Down on Islamist Opposition Group JSA
Chris Zambelis
Toronto, London and the Jihadi Spring: Bin Laden as Successful Instigator
Michael Scheuer
Jane's Police Review, 7 June 2006 - [Sub Required]
http://pr.janes.com/docs/jprcom/news.shtml
World Cup unit needs support
THE UK Football Policing Unit could not carry out all of its World Cup functions without the support of seconded officers, its director has said. ...07-Jun-2006
Small forces may leave the UK 'more vulnerable' to attacks
NORTHUMBRIA Police does not have the resources required to deal with the aftermath of a bombing like those in London last July, the force's chief ...07-Jun-2006
Service should look out for infiltration
FORCES needs to be 'smarter' about their vulnerability to infiltration from criminals, according to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. Vetting checks made on potential police staff...07-Jun-2006
Council's £2 million to fund 'real officers'
GLOUCESTERSHIRE Constabulary has been given nearly £2 million by the county council to fund 63 extra police officers. The Local Government Associa-tion said the contribution...07-Jun-2006
Bomb panel 'misunderstood' radio problems
COMMITTEE members who published an official report criticising the response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings 'misunderstood' radio communication problems experienced by emergency workers, ...07-Jun-2006
Officers fight to scrap glass
HUNDREDS of Dorset Police officers have joined a campaign to change the law and allow only plastic bottles and glasses in clubs and bars. Marjorie...07-Jun-2006
Beat team clamps down on petty crime
THE community beat team in North Shields has made more than 500 arrests in a year after embarking on a dedicated intelligence-led crime-fighting mission. The...07-Jun-2006
One third of all forces fail to complete threat assessments
A THIRD of forces in England and Wales failed to complete and return a strategic threat assessment last year, a situation HM Inspectorate of Constabulary ...07-Jun-2006
Bill 'could threaten local accountability'
SECTIONS of the Police and Justice Bill could 'seriously undermine' local accountability in policing, according to the honorary president of the Association of Police Authorities. ...07-Jun-2006
Scheme to put staff into response roles
POLICE staff will find themselves working in intelligence, investigation and response policing under new workforce modernisation trials. ACPO is looking for 10 volunteer forces for...07-Jun-2006
IPCC 'did not delay' anti-terrorist operation
THE Independent Police Comp-laints Commission has dismissed reports that its investigation of a shooting that occurred during a counter-terrorist raid delayed the police operation. 'Conflicting'...07-Jun-2006
Govt needs to commit to PSNI funding
IT is 'high time' the Government showed itself committed to the Patten report findings by meeting a shortfall in funding for a new police training ...07-Jun-2006
Delaying mergers 'will not be enough'
THE Home Office must abandon its 'disastrous obsession' with the merger-only approach to restructuring, Cleveland Police Authority has urged. Cleveland Police and its authority were...07-Jun-2006
World Cup unit needs support
THE UK Football Policing Unit could not carry out all of its World Cup functions without the support of seconded officers, its director has said. ...07-Jun-2006
Small forces may leave the UK 'more vulnerable' to attacks
NORTHUMBRIA Police does not have the resources required to deal with the aftermath of a bombing like those in London last July, the force's chief ...07-Jun-2006
Service should look out for infiltration
FORCES needs to be 'smarter' about their vulnerability to infiltration from criminals, according to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. Vetting checks made on potential police staff...07-Jun-2006
Council's £2 million to fund 'real officers'
GLOUCESTERSHIRE Constabulary has been given nearly £2 million by the county council to fund 63 extra police officers. The Local Government Associa-tion said the contribution...07-Jun-2006
Bomb panel 'misunderstood' radio problems
COMMITTEE members who published an official report criticising the response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings 'misunderstood' radio communication problems experienced by emergency workers, ...07-Jun-2006
Officers fight to scrap glass
HUNDREDS of Dorset Police officers have joined a campaign to change the law and allow only plastic bottles and glasses in clubs and bars. Marjorie...07-Jun-2006
Beat team clamps down on petty crime
THE community beat team in North Shields has made more than 500 arrests in a year after embarking on a dedicated intelligence-led crime-fighting mission. The...07-Jun-2006
One third of all forces fail to complete threat assessments
A THIRD of forces in England and Wales failed to complete and return a strategic threat assessment last year, a situation HM Inspectorate of Constabulary ...07-Jun-2006
Bill 'could threaten local accountability'
SECTIONS of the Police and Justice Bill could 'seriously undermine' local accountability in policing, according to the honorary president of the Association of Police Authorities. ...07-Jun-2006
Scheme to put staff into response roles
POLICE staff will find themselves working in intelligence, investigation and response policing under new workforce modernisation trials. ACPO is looking for 10 volunteer forces for...07-Jun-2006
IPCC 'did not delay' anti-terrorist operation
THE Independent Police Comp-laints Commission has dismissed reports that its investigation of a shooting that occurred during a counter-terrorist raid delayed the police operation. 'Conflicting'...07-Jun-2006
Govt needs to commit to PSNI funding
IT is 'high time' the Government showed itself committed to the Patten report findings by meeting a shortfall in funding for a new police training ...07-Jun-2006
Delaying mergers 'will not be enough'
THE Home Office must abandon its 'disastrous obsession' with the merger-only approach to restructuring, Cleveland Police Authority has urged. Cleveland Police and its authority were...07-Jun-2006
[Switzerland] Cabinet stands firm on assisted suicide / SwissInfo, 31 May 2006
http://digbig.com/4jcrj
"Assisted suicide is tolerated under Swiss law. Experts call for clear euthanasia rules Laws governing assisted suicide in Switzerland are sufficient, according to the cabinet, which said on Wednesday it had no plans to tighten the rules. Pressure has been mounting for the practice to be more tightly controlled, partly because Switzerland has gained a reputation for "death tourism".
"Assisted suicide is tolerated under Swiss law. Experts call for clear euthanasia rules Laws governing assisted suicide in Switzerland are sufficient, according to the cabinet, which said on Wednesday it had no plans to tighten the rules. Pressure has been mounting for the practice to be more tightly controlled, partly because Switzerland has gained a reputation for "death tourism".
Heroin loses its attraction / SwissInfo, 2 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jcrg
"The liberalisation of Switzerland's drug policy since 1991 has led to a drop in the number of new heroin addicts, a Zurich University study has revealed. But it found that since the number of addicts who managed to quit has decreased only slightly, the population of heroin users has remained relatively stable."
"The liberalisation of Switzerland's drug policy since 1991 has led to a drop in the number of new heroin addicts, a Zurich University study has revealed. But it found that since the number of addicts who managed to quit has decreased only slightly, the population of heroin users has remained relatively stable."
Europe colluded with CIA on secret prisons / Swissinfo, 7 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jcre
" Marty named and shamed more than dozen European states. A Swiss investigator says more than a dozen European countries colluded in a "global spider's web" of secret CIA prisons and transfers of terrorism suspects. Dick Marty, looking into the affair for the human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, said seven nations played an active role and others, including Switzerland, turned a blind eye."
" Marty named and shamed more than dozen European states. A Swiss investigator says more than a dozen European countries colluded in a "global spider's web" of secret CIA prisons and transfers of terrorism suspects. Dick Marty, looking into the affair for the human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, said seven nations played an active role and others, including Switzerland, turned a blind eye."
Antisocial behaviour? Society must look to itself, not CCTV / Scotsman, 8 June 2006
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=843292006
STUART WAITON
THE latest "bin a knife" campaign, like many of today's police initiatives, is intended to reduce crime and fear of crime. But as knife crime consequently becomes more newsworthy and "horror stabbing" headlines emerge, the fear of crime rises once again. " [Sub Required]
STUART WAITON
THE latest "bin a knife" campaign, like many of today's police initiatives, is intended to reduce crime and fear of crime. But as knife crime consequently becomes more newsworthy and "horror stabbing" headlines emerge, the fear of crime rises once again. " [Sub Required]
Briton wanted over Canada bomb plot arrested at Manchester airport / Times, 8 June 2006
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2215988,00.html
Daniel McGrory, Andrew Norfolk and Michael Evans
A BRITON said to be a key figure in an alleged plot to bomb public buildings in Canada, including the Parliament, was arrested by counter-terrorist police as he stepped off a plane at Manchester airport.
Daniel McGrory, Andrew Norfolk and Michael Evans
A BRITON said to be a key figure in an alleged plot to bomb public buildings in Canada, including the Parliament, was arrested by counter-terrorist police as he stepped off a plane at Manchester airport.
Confronting Confinement / Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons, 8 June 2006
PDF - http://www.prisoncommission.org/pdfs/Confronting_Confinement.pdf
"A report on violence and abuse in U.S. jails and prisons, the broad impact of those problems on public safety and public health, and how correctional facilities nationwide can become safer and more effective."
"A report on violence and abuse in U.S. jails and prisons, the broad impact of those problems on public safety and public health, and how correctional facilities nationwide can become safer and more effective."
UK looks to get tough on cybercrime : Analysts not convinced it'll work / PC Advisor, 7 June 2006
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=6332
Jeremy Kirk
Tightening up existing legislation will help UK authorities to prosecute hackers better and put them in prison longer – but analysts question whether the moves will constrict an explosive growth in costly cybercrime. Observers view the changes to the CMA as unnecessary. A partner at law firm Bird and Bird in London and author of Internet Law and Regulation, said the act is broad enough to cover most breaches. Further, Lennon's case has added clarity to prosecution of DoS attacks, he said. "We already have what is probably the most broadly drafted and all-encompassing antihacking legislation in the entire world," Smith said. "I've always been of the view that what is required is a willingness on the part of the prosecution to bring cases."
Jeremy Kirk
Tightening up existing legislation will help UK authorities to prosecute hackers better and put them in prison longer – but analysts question whether the moves will constrict an explosive growth in costly cybercrime. Observers view the changes to the CMA as unnecessary. A partner at law firm Bird and Bird in London and author of Internet Law and Regulation, said the act is broad enough to cover most breaches. Further, Lennon's case has added clarity to prosecution of DoS attacks, he said. "We already have what is probably the most broadly drafted and all-encompassing antihacking legislation in the entire world," Smith said. "I've always been of the view that what is required is a willingness on the part of the prosecution to bring cases."
Web terror ring exposed / The Australian, 8 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jcqt
"AN INTERNET trail has led investigators to an intricate terror network spreading from the back streets of Baghdad through cells of young militants living in European capitals to Islamic extremists plotting car bomb attacks in North America.For nine months, Operation Mazhar's police and intelligence agents in eight countries have patiently worked through a mass of emails and intercepted telephone calls that have so far led to the arrest of up to 30 males. Most of these suspects have never met. They had no need. They were recruited, groomed by propagandists and schooled in bombmaking via the internet."
"AN INTERNET trail has led investigators to an intricate terror network spreading from the back streets of Baghdad through cells of young militants living in European capitals to Islamic extremists plotting car bomb attacks in North America.For nine months, Operation Mazhar's police and intelligence agents in eight countries have patiently worked through a mass of emails and intercepted telephone calls that have so far led to the arrest of up to 30 males. Most of these suspects have never met. They had no need. They were recruited, groomed by propagandists and schooled in bombmaking via the internet."
The evidence base for the classification of drugs Addendum: International comparisons of drug control policies and systems / Rand, 2006
PDF - http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2006/RAND_TR362.1.pdf
Edward Nason, Ruth Levitt
Prepared for the UK House of Commons Committee on Science and Technology
"This short document is an Addendum to a paper RAND Europe provided for the House
of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology in January 2006 on the
evidence base for the classification of drugs. The Committee subsequently asked RAND Europe
to provide a further, short summary of those international comparisons, to complement
the information already set out in the main report. This Addendum provides selected additional information about drug use, strategy, punishment and treatment regime and drug education in the UK. It provides selected additional information on the USA, the Netherlands and Sweden, to complement that already provided in the main report on drug education systems. The information is not a comprehensive review of all the evidence available for the four countries; rather it provides an overview of the drug classification systems and the punishment and treatment regimes in place."
Edward Nason, Ruth Levitt
Prepared for the UK House of Commons Committee on Science and Technology
"This short document is an Addendum to a paper RAND Europe provided for the House
of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology in January 2006 on the
evidence base for the classification of drugs. The Committee subsequently asked RAND Europe
to provide a further, short summary of those international comparisons, to complement
the information already set out in the main report. This Addendum provides selected additional information about drug use, strategy, punishment and treatment regime and drug education in the UK. It provides selected additional information on the USA, the Netherlands and Sweden, to complement that already provided in the main report on drug education systems. The information is not a comprehensive review of all the evidence available for the four countries; rather it provides an overview of the drug classification systems and the punishment and treatment regimes in place."
Anti-Social Behaviour - Removing Young Persons / Mondaq, 7 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jcnx
Nicholas Dobson
"The Court of Appeal appears to have calmed the kerfuffle caused by the decision of the Divisional Court on 20 July 2005 in R (W) v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2005] EWHC 1586 (Admin). Lawyers with a (professional) taste for anti-social behaviour will recall that (amongst other things) this had - somewhat controversially - decided that the power in section 30(6) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 was permissive and not coercive. The Court of Appeal on 11 May 2006 took a different view holding that this measure 'plainly carries with it a coercive power' (see R (W) v (1) Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis (2) London Borough of Richmond-upon- Thames (3) Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 458)." [Free log-on required]
Nicholas Dobson
"The Court of Appeal appears to have calmed the kerfuffle caused by the decision of the Divisional Court on 20 July 2005 in R (W) v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2005] EWHC 1586 (Admin). Lawyers with a (professional) taste for anti-social behaviour will recall that (amongst other things) this had - somewhat controversially - decided that the power in section 30(6) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 was permissive and not coercive. The Court of Appeal on 11 May 2006 took a different view holding that this measure 'plainly carries with it a coercive power' (see R (W) v (1) Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis (2) London Borough of Richmond-upon- Thames (3) Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWCA Civ 458)." [Free log-on required]
New scheme launches / Adoption Net, 7 June 2006
http://www.adoption-net.co.uk/news/2006/June/070606nch.htm
"An innovative London scheme to place young offenders in foster care, not prison, is being launched by leading children’s charity NCH. In 2003 around 69 per cent of young people aged 10 to 17 were reconvicted after leaving custody signalling the need for a credible alternative to prevent young people from re-offending."
"An innovative London scheme to place young offenders in foster care, not prison, is being launched by leading children’s charity NCH. In 2003 around 69 per cent of young people aged 10 to 17 were reconvicted after leaving custody signalling the need for a credible alternative to prevent young people from re-offending."
Unlearning Intolerance / Zaman Daily News, 7 June 2006
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=commentary&alt=&trh=20060607&hn=33777
Graham Watson, MEP
"A phobia, the dictionary tells us, is an uncontrollable, irrational, and persistent fear of a specific object. Tellingly, it is also one that is entirely out of proportion with the reality of the threat.
Such is the case with Islamophobia, a term first used in the 1990s in the wake of the Salman Rushdie affair and which has become increasingly widespread. Particularly since terrorist attacks and the likes of the Danish Cartoons controversy have forced Muslims into the media spotlight. It has many definitions but, according to Ambassador Omur Orhun, OSCE Personal Representative on Combating Islamophobia, should be interpreted as the "fear or suspicion of Islam, Muslims and matters pertaining to them".
Graham Watson, MEP
"A phobia, the dictionary tells us, is an uncontrollable, irrational, and persistent fear of a specific object. Tellingly, it is also one that is entirely out of proportion with the reality of the threat.
Such is the case with Islamophobia, a term first used in the 1990s in the wake of the Salman Rushdie affair and which has become increasingly widespread. Particularly since terrorist attacks and the likes of the Danish Cartoons controversy have forced Muslims into the media spotlight. It has many definitions but, according to Ambassador Omur Orhun, OSCE Personal Representative on Combating Islamophobia, should be interpreted as the "fear or suspicion of Islam, Muslims and matters pertaining to them".
England’s National Identity Register to become hub for all public-sector databases /
http://www.bjhc.co.uk/news/1/2006/n606003.htm
"The Government has accepted recommendations that citizens’ contact details stored on the National Identity Register (the database associated with the ID card) should become the sole source of this information, to be updated and used for general administrative purposes by local and central government services. The objective is to reduce the burden on individuals and public-service organisations of maintaining basic contact information. The recommendations have been made by the Board of the Citizen Information Project (CIP). The CIP was led by the UK’s Office for National Statistics, with involvement from representatives of HM Treasury, the Home Office Identity Cards Programme and other government departments including the Department of Health." [Brief]
Full story in bjhc&im June 2006 (911 words) - [Sub required]
"The Government has accepted recommendations that citizens’ contact details stored on the National Identity Register (the database associated with the ID card) should become the sole source of this information, to be updated and used for general administrative purposes by local and central government services. The objective is to reduce the burden on individuals and public-service organisations of maintaining basic contact information. The recommendations have been made by the Board of the Citizen Information Project (CIP). The CIP was led by the UK’s Office for National Statistics, with involvement from representatives of HM Treasury, the Home Office Identity Cards Programme and other government departments including the Department of Health." [Brief]
Full story in bjhc&im June 2006 (911 words) - [Sub required]
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
[Canada] THE TERROR RAIDS - How the police watched the plan unfold / Globe & Mail, 7 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4jaqt
COLIN FREEZE
"Fahim Ahmad group's alleged 'emir'. It's alleged that they called their project Operation Badr. And before its unravelling gripped the world's attention on the weekend, it made quieter noises that police say they picked up on: a seemingly inconsequential gun seizure at the Canada-U.S. border; a gunshot near Cochrane in Northern Ontario; bullets shattering statues of Hindu gods during a target practice in a remote area in the Township of Ramara, Ont.; and the printing of business cards with a decidedly non-threatening e-mail address, Studentfarmers@hotmail.com.
According to a copy of a Crown synopsis viewed yesterday by The Globe and Mail, police have months worth of surveillance, communication intercepts and physical evidence that were amassed before a monitored buy of $4,000 worth of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on Friday. This sting is said to be the final chapter of months of dogged police work, leading to the arrest of 17 suspects."
COLIN FREEZE
"Fahim Ahmad group's alleged 'emir'. It's alleged that they called their project Operation Badr. And before its unravelling gripped the world's attention on the weekend, it made quieter noises that police say they picked up on: a seemingly inconsequential gun seizure at the Canada-U.S. border; a gunshot near Cochrane in Northern Ontario; bullets shattering statues of Hindu gods during a target practice in a remote area in the Township of Ramara, Ont.; and the printing of business cards with a decidedly non-threatening e-mail address, Studentfarmers@hotmail.com.
According to a copy of a Crown synopsis viewed yesterday by The Globe and Mail, police have months worth of surveillance, communication intercepts and physical evidence that were amassed before a monitored buy of $4,000 worth of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on Friday. This sting is said to be the final chapter of months of dogged police work, leading to the arrest of 17 suspects."
Omnilink Systems Introduces Focalpoint Web-Based Monitoring Application / Business Wire, 6 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4japt
"Omnilink Systems, a leader in the emerging field of Vital Status Services (VSS), will launch Focalpoint, a Web-based application expected to streamline offender monitoring, at the Innovative Technologies for Community Corrections Conference, June 12-14 in Atlanta. The second component of Omnilink's comprehensive suite of monitoring solutions, Focalpoint is a highly configurable exception-based platform, enabling users to specify the monitoring criteria and receive real-time alerts if exceptions occur, via automated voice calls, text message, pager, email, fax, etc. Focalpoint's inter-operability architecture makes it very easy to integrate the system into pre-existing applications to make the customer's value chain even more effective.
"Focalpoint will allow the judicial system to enforce accountability and compliance among offenders at unprecedented levels," said Steve Aninye, president and CEO, Omnilink Systems. "From curfew to passive to active monitoring, Focalpoint's scalability makes it the ideal tool for the judicial system and other industries that require real-time status of assets or people of interest," he added.
After 14 months of testing with judicial service providers and other agencies, over 800 offenders have been added to the Focalpoint monitoring application in the last 60 days alone." [Brief]
"Omnilink Systems, a leader in the emerging field of Vital Status Services (VSS), will launch Focalpoint, a Web-based application expected to streamline offender monitoring, at the Innovative Technologies for Community Corrections Conference, June 12-14 in Atlanta. The second component of Omnilink's comprehensive suite of monitoring solutions, Focalpoint is a highly configurable exception-based platform, enabling users to specify the monitoring criteria and receive real-time alerts if exceptions occur, via automated voice calls, text message, pager, email, fax, etc. Focalpoint's inter-operability architecture makes it very easy to integrate the system into pre-existing applications to make the customer's value chain even more effective.
"Focalpoint will allow the judicial system to enforce accountability and compliance among offenders at unprecedented levels," said Steve Aninye, president and CEO, Omnilink Systems. "From curfew to passive to active monitoring, Focalpoint's scalability makes it the ideal tool for the judicial system and other industries that require real-time status of assets or people of interest," he added.
After 14 months of testing with judicial service providers and other agencies, over 800 offenders have been added to the Focalpoint monitoring application in the last 60 days alone." [Brief]
UK welcomes careful hackers / ZDNet UK, 2 June 2006
http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/other/0,39020682,39272584,00.htm
"Britain's new approach to serious crime means you'll get little help from the police if your PC is hijacked. Are you the kind of person who's financially motivated, a self-starter, happy to work alone or as part of a team? Who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard, and presumably accepts imprisonment in the same casual manner? Well, have we got news for you. Good news, too. If you hijack a computer in the UK and demand payment to release it, the police won't so much as open their notebooks. "
"Britain's new approach to serious crime means you'll get little help from the police if your PC is hijacked. Are you the kind of person who's financially motivated, a self-starter, happy to work alone or as part of a team? Who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard, and presumably accepts imprisonment in the same casual manner? Well, have we got news for you. Good news, too. If you hijack a computer in the UK and demand payment to release it, the police won't so much as open their notebooks. "
Homegrown Terrorists Pose Serious Threat / ABC, 2 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4hyyc
PIERRE THOMAS
Suspected Canadian Terror Cell Shows How Terrorists Don't Just Come from Al Qaeda. Canadian authorities said Saturday they had foiled plans for terrorist attacks in southern Ontario with the arrests of people who were "inspired by al-Qaida." On Friday, June 2, 2006, members of the RCMP and partners of the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team arrested 12 individuals and charged them under Section 83 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
By June 5, 2006 — After the weekend arrests of 17 suspected terrorists in Canada, the FBI is working closely with Canadian police to find out more details about the alleged plot and believes the threat of homegrown terrorists is very real and growing."
PIERRE THOMAS
Suspected Canadian Terror Cell Shows How Terrorists Don't Just Come from Al Qaeda. Canadian authorities said Saturday they had foiled plans for terrorist attacks in southern Ontario with the arrests of people who were "inspired by al-Qaida." On Friday, June 2, 2006, members of the RCMP and partners of the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team arrested 12 individuals and charged them under Section 83 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
By June 5, 2006 — After the weekend arrests of 17 suspected terrorists in Canada, the FBI is working closely with Canadian police to find out more details about the alleged plot and believes the threat of homegrown terrorists is very real and growing."
UK drug driving problem is one of the worst in Europe / Easier, 7 June 2006
http://www.easier.com/view/News/Motoring/article-55055.html
"As the number of people driving under the influence of illegal drugs in the UK reaches critical levels, leading motor insurer MORE TH>N is pushing for the speedy introduction of roadside drugs screening devices similar to those being used successfully in other countries, including Germany, Switzerland and Australia."
"As the number of people driving under the influence of illegal drugs in the UK reaches critical levels, leading motor insurer MORE TH>N is pushing for the speedy introduction of roadside drugs screening devices similar to those being used successfully in other countries, including Germany, Switzerland and Australia."
Is knife crime out of control in Britain? / Socialist Worker, 10 June 2006
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id=8971
Esme Choonara
"As the media reports stabbings on a daily basis, looks at the reality on the streets and the facts behind the headlines. Knife crime is big news following a number of high profile stabbings over the past month. Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Ian Blair has called for mandatory sentences for anyone found in possession of a knife. Government ministers are reported to be considering increasing the maximum sentence for carrying a knife from two to five years.
The newspapers have been full of police pictures of piles of confiscated weapons and officers posing with huge blades handed in during the current knife amnesty. If you believe the reports, you would think we are seeing a massive increase in fatal stabbings. Closer examination of the figures show a different story."
Esme Choonara
"As the media reports stabbings on a daily basis, looks at the reality on the streets and the facts behind the headlines. Knife crime is big news following a number of high profile stabbings over the past month. Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Ian Blair has called for mandatory sentences for anyone found in possession of a knife. Government ministers are reported to be considering increasing the maximum sentence for carrying a knife from two to five years.
The newspapers have been full of police pictures of piles of confiscated weapons and officers posing with huge blades handed in during the current knife amnesty. If you believe the reports, you would think we are seeing a massive increase in fatal stabbings. Closer examination of the figures show a different story."
Refugees, - Victims of intolerance / N ° 1 4 2 - 2 0 0 6 ; UNHCR
PDF - http://digbig.com/4hyxy
6 Abusers or abused - Asylum seekers and refugees are increasingly being subjected to physical and verbal abuse. Governments, the public and the media have tended to blame the victims, instead of seeking to protect them better.
14 WORDS AND IMAGES - An analysis of derogatory and inflationary language used to distort the asylum debate inAustralia and the uk.
26 VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE - A glimpse of the full horror when intolerance drives a society over the edge.
6 Abusers or abused - Asylum seekers and refugees are increasingly being subjected to physical and verbal abuse. Governments, the public and the media have tended to blame the victims, instead of seeking to protect them better.
14 WORDS AND IMAGES - An analysis of derogatory and inflationary language used to distort the asylum debate inAustralia and the uk.
26 VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE - A glimpse of the full horror when intolerance drives a society over the edge.
Football Banning Orders, Proportionality, and Public Order Policing / The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 45 Page 241 - July 2006
CLIFFORD STOTT, GEOFF PEARSON
"This article provides a critical analysis of the UK legislation on football banning orders. The historical development of this legislation is outlined and concerns are raised about its impact upon civil liberties and human rights, particularly with respect to Section 14B of the Football (Disorder) Act 2000. The article then outlines a body of research on crowd psychology, public order policing and football 'disorder' that questions the determining role of the banning order in the reduction of English 'hooliganism' at international football tournaments. With regard to tests of proportionality the article concludes by raising important questions about the efficacy and justifiability of football banning orders as a long-term strategy for the management of football 'hooliganism'. " [Sub Required]
"This article provides a critical analysis of the UK legislation on football banning orders. The historical development of this legislation is outlined and concerns are raised about its impact upon civil liberties and human rights, particularly with respect to Section 14B of the Football (Disorder) Act 2000. The article then outlines a body of research on crowd psychology, public order policing and football 'disorder' that questions the determining role of the banning order in the reduction of English 'hooliganism' at international football tournaments. With regard to tests of proportionality the article concludes by raising important questions about the efficacy and justifiability of football banning orders as a long-term strategy for the management of football 'hooliganism'. " [Sub Required]
Greece trying to assimilate migrants / Aljazeera, 1 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4hytx
Ioannis Gatsiounis
"With Muslim immigration to Greece soaring, Athens is having to learn how to assimilate its minorities, with their different cultures, religions and traditions. With almost 99% of the population Greek Orthodox Christians, Greece may seem like an unlikely destination for immigrant Muslims. Its 11% unemployment rate ranks near the highest among European Union countries and it is one of the less developed member states. Nevertheless, some 200,000 Muslims, representing a quarter of all immigrants in Greece, now live in the capital Athens alone, up from 5000 in the early 1990s."
Ioannis Gatsiounis
"With Muslim immigration to Greece soaring, Athens is having to learn how to assimilate its minorities, with their different cultures, religions and traditions. With almost 99% of the population Greek Orthodox Christians, Greece may seem like an unlikely destination for immigrant Muslims. Its 11% unemployment rate ranks near the highest among European Union countries and it is one of the less developed member states. Nevertheless, some 200,000 Muslims, representing a quarter of all immigrants in Greece, now live in the capital Athens alone, up from 5000 in the early 1990s."
[Canada] Suspects seem strictly second-rate / Toronto Star, 7 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4hytr
THOMAS WALKOM
"If these guys are terrorists, they aren't very good ones. At least that seems to be the picture that is slowly emerging of the 17 men and boys charged this week under Canada's anti-terror laws. Their so-called training camp turns out to have been a swath of bush near Washago, where their activities — shooting off firearms and playing paintball — were so obvious and so irritating that local residents immediately called police."
THOMAS WALKOM
"If these guys are terrorists, they aren't very good ones. At least that seems to be the picture that is slowly emerging of the 17 men and boys charged this week under Canada's anti-terror laws. Their so-called training camp turns out to have been a swath of bush near Washago, where their activities — shooting off firearms and playing paintball — were so obvious and so irritating that local residents immediately called police."
Aussie crims pick up US trend / The Australian, 5 June 2006
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19363025-2,00.html
"A DEADLY form of carjacking, called the "bump and rob" has police warning the drivers of luxury high performance cars to take extra safety precautions.Car thieves have adopted the method, which has prompted New York police to warn drivers who are rear-ended in traffic to direct the other vehicle to follow them to the nearest police station. The crime involves one car, usually with a driver and at least one passenger, which rear-ends or "bumps" a target in traffic.
When a driver gets out to check the damage and exchange information while the driver or passenger jumps in and drives off in the car."
"A DEADLY form of carjacking, called the "bump and rob" has police warning the drivers of luxury high performance cars to take extra safety precautions.Car thieves have adopted the method, which has prompted New York police to warn drivers who are rear-ended in traffic to direct the other vehicle to follow them to the nearest police station. The crime involves one car, usually with a driver and at least one passenger, which rear-ends or "bumps" a target in traffic.
When a driver gets out to check the damage and exchange information while the driver or passenger jumps in and drives off in the car."
Multinational Inquiry Led to Canada Terror Arrests / LA Times, 5 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4hyth
Josh Meyer and Jason Chow
"Authorities are looking for connections between those jailed in raids over the weekend and suspects held in at least six other countries. The arrest of 17 terrorism suspects in Canada is part of a continuing, multinational inquiry into suspected terrorist cells in at least seven countries, a U.S. counter-terrorism official confirmed Sunday. The senior U.S. law enforcement official said authorities were combing through evidence seized during raids in Canada this weekend to look for possible connections between the 17 suspects arrested and at least 18 other Islamist militants who had been arrested in locations including the United States, Bangladesh, BosniaHerzegovina, Britain, Denmark and Sweden. The investigation began as separate probes into what authorities believed were localized cells of militant Muslim young men who shared an interest in radical ideology on the Internet and, to a lesser extent, in local mosques and training camps."
Josh Meyer and Jason Chow
"Authorities are looking for connections between those jailed in raids over the weekend and suspects held in at least six other countries. The arrest of 17 terrorism suspects in Canada is part of a continuing, multinational inquiry into suspected terrorist cells in at least seven countries, a U.S. counter-terrorism official confirmed Sunday. The senior U.S. law enforcement official said authorities were combing through evidence seized during raids in Canada this weekend to look for possible connections between the 17 suspects arrested and at least 18 other Islamist militants who had been arrested in locations including the United States, Bangladesh, BosniaHerzegovina, Britain, Denmark and Sweden. The investigation began as separate probes into what authorities believed were localized cells of militant Muslim young men who shared an interest in radical ideology on the Internet and, to a lesser extent, in local mosques and training camps."
Oz tech walks into airports / The Australian, 5 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4hytg
Steve Creedy
"THE annoyance of having to remove shoes during airport security checks is to become a thing of the past thanks to technology developed in Australia.Perth company QR Sciences has signed an agreement with US industrial giant General Electric to supply technology for a machine capable of scanning shoes. Travellers stand on a platform and GE's ShoeScanner uses the technology, which is similar to a medical MRI, to detect explosives within five to eight seconds. The technology uses radio waves to penetrate objects and excite a response from the atoms in substances such as plastic explosives. It is more sensitive and versatile than traditional detection techniques."
Steve Creedy
"THE annoyance of having to remove shoes during airport security checks is to become a thing of the past thanks to technology developed in Australia.Perth company QR Sciences has signed an agreement with US industrial giant General Electric to supply technology for a machine capable of scanning shoes. Travellers stand on a platform and GE's ShoeScanner uses the technology, which is similar to a medical MRI, to detect explosives within five to eight seconds. The technology uses radio waves to penetrate objects and excite a response from the atoms in substances such as plastic explosives. It is more sensitive and versatile than traditional detection techniques."
The Emergence of Super-Diversity in Britain / Compas, 2006
PDF - http://digbig.com/4hyte
Steven Vertovec
"Diversity in Britain is not what it used to be. Some thirty years of government policies, social service practices and public perceptions have been framed by a particular understanding of immigration and multicultural diversity. That is, Britain 's immigrant and ethnic minority population has conventionally been characterised by large, well-organized African-Caribbean and South Asian communities of citizens originally from Commonwealth countries or formerly colonial territories. Policy frameworks and public understanding – and, indeed, many areas of social science – have not caught up with recently emergent demographic and social patterns. Britain can now be characterised by ‘super-diversity,' a notion intended to underline a level and kind of complexity surpassing anything the country has previously experienced. Such a condition is distinguished by a dynamic interplay of variables among an increased number of new, small and scattered, multiple-origin, transnationally connected, socio-economically differentiated and legally stratified immigrants who have arrived over the last decade. Outlined here, new patterns of super-diversity pose significant challenges for both policy and research."
Steven Vertovec
"Diversity in Britain is not what it used to be. Some thirty years of government policies, social service practices and public perceptions have been framed by a particular understanding of immigration and multicultural diversity. That is, Britain 's immigrant and ethnic minority population has conventionally been characterised by large, well-organized African-Caribbean and South Asian communities of citizens originally from Commonwealth countries or formerly colonial territories. Policy frameworks and public understanding – and, indeed, many areas of social science – have not caught up with recently emergent demographic and social patterns. Britain can now be characterised by ‘super-diversity,' a notion intended to underline a level and kind of complexity surpassing anything the country has previously experienced. Such a condition is distinguished by a dynamic interplay of variables among an increased number of new, small and scattered, multiple-origin, transnationally connected, socio-economically differentiated and legally stratified immigrants who have arrived over the last decade. Outlined here, new patterns of super-diversity pose significant challenges for both policy and research."
[Netherlands] From Ethnic Minorities to Ethnic Majority Policy: changing identities and the shift to assimilationism in the Netherlands / COMPAS, 2006
PDF - http://digbig.com/4hytd
Ellie Vasta
"Recently in numerous European countries of immigration, there has been a widespread ‘moral panic' about immigrants and ethnic diversity. In the Netherlands, a backlash has occurred in policy and in public discourse, with migrants being blamed for not meeting their responsibility to integrate and for practicing ‘backward religions'. Why is it that a self-defined ‘liberal' and ‘tolerant' society demands conformity, compulsion and introduces seemingly undemocratic sanctions towards immigrants? These issues are analysed by providing an overview of modes of incorporation of immigrants in the Netherlands and it presents evidence on the socio-economic situation of immigrants. The paper argues that patterns of disadvantage, especially those which affect Dutch-born minority youth, cannot be explained by the low human capital attributes of the original immigrants. The causes have to be sought in pervasive institutional discrimination and the persistence of a culture of racism. The paper argues that racial discrimination is the link between immigrant structural marginalisation and the ‘tolerant' society. "
Ellie Vasta
"Recently in numerous European countries of immigration, there has been a widespread ‘moral panic' about immigrants and ethnic diversity. In the Netherlands, a backlash has occurred in policy and in public discourse, with migrants being blamed for not meeting their responsibility to integrate and for practicing ‘backward religions'. Why is it that a self-defined ‘liberal' and ‘tolerant' society demands conformity, compulsion and introduces seemingly undemocratic sanctions towards immigrants? These issues are analysed by providing an overview of modes of incorporation of immigrants in the Netherlands and it presents evidence on the socio-economic situation of immigrants. The paper argues that patterns of disadvantage, especially those which affect Dutch-born minority youth, cannot be explained by the low human capital attributes of the original immigrants. The causes have to be sought in pervasive institutional discrimination and the persistence of a culture of racism. The paper argues that racial discrimination is the link between immigrant structural marginalisation and the ‘tolerant' society. "
Probe had global dimension : Project Osage. One of several investigations underway in half a dozen countries / National Post, 5 June 2006
Stewart Bell
"The RCMP investigation is called Project OSage, while the FBI calls theirs Operation Northern Exposure and the British probe is known as Operation Mazhar. The Canadian counterterrorism investigation that resulted in charges against 17 suspects on the weekend is just one of several overlapping probes underway in a half-dozen countries. Police have traced connections between the Toronto group accused of plotting a bombing in southern Ontario with similar networks as far afield as Sweden and London. Explosives were also seized in Bosnia, while in London and Washington police searches have turned up videotapes allegedly showing possible bombing targets. All the investigations are focused on networks of computer-savvy youths from Western countries who have allegedly adopted the violent ideology of al-Qaeda." [4 pages]
"The RCMP investigation is called Project OSage, while the FBI calls theirs Operation Northern Exposure and the British probe is known as Operation Mazhar. The Canadian counterterrorism investigation that resulted in charges against 17 suspects on the weekend is just one of several overlapping probes underway in a half-dozen countries. Police have traced connections between the Toronto group accused of plotting a bombing in southern Ontario with similar networks as far afield as Sweden and London. Explosives were also seized in Bosnia, while in London and Washington police searches have turned up videotapes allegedly showing possible bombing targets. All the investigations are focused on networks of computer-savvy youths from Western countries who have allegedly adopted the violent ideology of al-Qaeda." [4 pages]
[Canada] 17 Held in Plot to Bomb Sites in Ontario / The New York Times, 4 June 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/world/americas/04toronto.html
IAN AUSTEN and DAVID JOHNSTON
"Seventeen Canadian residents were arrested and charged with plotting to attack targets in southern Ontario with crude but powerful fertilizer bombs. The arrests represented one of the largest counterterrorism sweeps in North America since the attacks of September 2001. American officials said that the plot did not involve any targets in the United States, but added that the full dimension of the plan for attacks was unknown."
IAN AUSTEN and DAVID JOHNSTON
"Seventeen Canadian residents were arrested and charged with plotting to attack targets in southern Ontario with crude but powerful fertilizer bombs. The arrests represented one of the largest counterterrorism sweeps in North America since the attacks of September 2001. American officials said that the plot did not involve any targets in the United States, but added that the full dimension of the plan for attacks was unknown."
[Canada] Arrests Shake Image of Harmony : Muslims in Canada Brace for a Backlash After Foiled Bomb Plot / Washington Post, 5 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4hytb
Doug Struck
"Qayyum Abdul Jamal and several others arrested in what Canadian police say was a foiled bomb plot were regulars at al-Rahman mosque here, a storefront space sandwiched between a Hasty convenience market and a beauty salon in a small strip mall."
Doug Struck
"Qayyum Abdul Jamal and several others arrested in what Canadian police say was a foiled bomb plot were regulars at al-Rahman mosque here, a storefront space sandwiched between a Hasty convenience market and a beauty salon in a small strip mall."
[Canada] Leaders vow to root out extremism : Arrests bring issue to forefront for GTA's Muslim community / The Star, 5 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4hyta
HEBA ALY
"Shock. Pity. Disgust. - Muslim leaders say they feel a range of emotions — if allegations turn out to be true — toward the 17 men and boys accused of terrorism-related charges.
But they agree on one thing: It's time to get to the root of the problem. "
HEBA ALY
"Shock. Pity. Disgust. - Muslim leaders say they feel a range of emotions — if allegations turn out to be true — toward the 17 men and boys accused of terrorism-related charges.
But they agree on one thing: It's time to get to the root of the problem. "
Friday, June 02, 2006
Black v Asian? / Catalyst Magazine, 25 May 2006
http://digbig.com/4hxmr
Linda Bellos
"The politics of colour and categories. There has been a bit of a buzz in the air in the circles I mix in about the term ‘black, Asian and minority ethnic’ or BAME. It is fairly new, and as far as anyone can tell, it does not seem to have been the subject of much consultation. The London Development Agency and the Greater London Authority have both used the term, so we must assume that it is to some degree official."
Linda Bellos
"The politics of colour and categories. There has been a bit of a buzz in the air in the circles I mix in about the term ‘black, Asian and minority ethnic’ or BAME. It is fairly new, and as far as anyone can tell, it does not seem to have been the subject of much consultation. The London Development Agency and the Greater London Authority have both used the term, so we must assume that it is to some degree official."
'Animals are less valuable than human beings' / Spiked Online, 2 June 2006
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/dev/article/355
Helene Guldberg
"A leading researcher tells why it is morally justifiable to cause heart attacks in rats - and why he isn't scared of animal rights extremists. But in political and moral debate, there is a reluctance to declare that humans are superior and thus that animal experimentation to advance medical science is not a necessary evil, but a moral good. "
Helene Guldberg
"A leading researcher tells why it is morally justifiable to cause heart attacks in rats - and why he isn't scared of animal rights extremists. But in political and moral debate, there is a reluctance to declare that humans are superior and thus that animal experimentation to advance medical science is not a necessary evil, but a moral good. "
Measuring happiness: a fool's errand /Spiked Online, 31 May 2006
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/338
Lee Rowland
Why psychologists on the hunt for a 'happiness index' have returned empty-handed.
Lee Rowland
Why psychologists on the hunt for a 'happiness index' have returned empty-handed.
[Germany] Germany's Greens Switch Tracks on Integration Policy / Deutsche Welle, 2 June 2006
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2040053,00.html
"Protecting immigrants from discrimination and xenophobia has always been at the heart of Green policies, said Renate Künast, head of the Green parliamentary group on Wednesday. Now it's about both "encouraging and making demands" from immigrants she added. The policy paper also spoke of immigrants as "citizens of this country with all the corresponding rights, but also with responsibilities.""
"Protecting immigrants from discrimination and xenophobia has always been at the heart of Green policies, said Renate Künast, head of the Green parliamentary group on Wednesday. Now it's about both "encouraging and making demands" from immigrants she added. The policy paper also spoke of immigrants as "citizens of this country with all the corresponding rights, but also with responsibilities.""
Terrorism Focus, Volume 3, Issue 21 (May 31, 2006)
Bin Laden Clears Moussaoui and Guantanamo Detainees of 9/11 Involvement
Jordan Arrests al-Qaeda Member in Sting Operation
Warlords or Counter-Terrorists: U.S. Intervention in Somalia
Riots, Renewed Attacks Underscore Taliban Resilience
Southern Thailand Still Suffering from Insurgent Violence
Jordan Arrests al-Qaeda Member in Sting Operation
Warlords or Counter-Terrorists: U.S. Intervention in Somalia
Riots, Renewed Attacks Underscore Taliban Resilience
Southern Thailand Still Suffering from Insurgent Violence
New Study Details More Than 1,000 al-Qaeda Arrests in Pakistan / Terrorism Focus, Volume 3, Issue 21 (May 31, 2006)
http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370008
"Al-Zarqawi's Aide Captured, Pro-U.S. Leader of Karabila Tribe AssassinatedKassim al-Ani, a senior aide to al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was apprehended in Baghdad on May 28. Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Kassim al-Mosawi informed the media of the capture, calling al-Ani one of the most wanted insurgents in Iraq, responsible for a series of attacks in several districts (KUNA, May 29). Al-Ani was arrested with two other insurgents; they were captured in Baghdad's northern Adhamiya district (Gulf Times, May 30). Also on May 29, an al-Qaeda affiliated insurgent group assassinated Sunni Arab Sheikh Osama Jedaan in Mansur in western Baghdad (Gulf Times, May 30)."[Brief]
"A new study released by the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies found that Pakistani security forces arrested more than 1,000 al-Qaeda suspects between January 2002 and May 2006 (Dawn, May 26). 86 were from Saudi Arabia, 70 from Algeria, 20 from Morocco, 20 from Egypt, 28 from Indonesia, 18 from Malaysia, 22 from the UAE, 11 from Libya, seven from Kuwait and 36 from West Asian countries (Dawn, May 26). Additionally, five of the suspects were American and 11 were from the United Kingdom; there were also German, French and Australian suspects (Dawn, May 26). The study does not include Afghans and Pakistanis fighting Pakistani security forces in the country's tribal areas of the NWFP and FATA (IRNA, May 25). The report also states that security forces killed more than 1,000 al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan during this period. [Brief]
"Al-Zarqawi's Aide Captured, Pro-U.S. Leader of Karabila Tribe AssassinatedKassim al-Ani, a senior aide to al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was apprehended in Baghdad on May 28. Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Kassim al-Mosawi informed the media of the capture, calling al-Ani one of the most wanted insurgents in Iraq, responsible for a series of attacks in several districts (KUNA, May 29). Al-Ani was arrested with two other insurgents; they were captured in Baghdad's northern Adhamiya district (Gulf Times, May 30). Also on May 29, an al-Qaeda affiliated insurgent group assassinated Sunni Arab Sheikh Osama Jedaan in Mansur in western Baghdad (Gulf Times, May 30)."[Brief]
"A new study released by the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies found that Pakistani security forces arrested more than 1,000 al-Qaeda suspects between January 2002 and May 2006 (Dawn, May 26). 86 were from Saudi Arabia, 70 from Algeria, 20 from Morocco, 20 from Egypt, 28 from Indonesia, 18 from Malaysia, 22 from the UAE, 11 from Libya, seven from Kuwait and 36 from West Asian countries (Dawn, May 26). Additionally, five of the suspects were American and 11 were from the United Kingdom; there were also German, French and Australian suspects (Dawn, May 26). The study does not include Afghans and Pakistanis fighting Pakistani security forces in the country's tribal areas of the NWFP and FATA (IRNA, May 25). The report also states that security forces killed more than 1,000 al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan during this period. [Brief]
Omnilink Systems Introduces Innovative, Real-Time Vital Status Services Solution; New Platform to Revolutionize Location Based Services /
Business Wire, 1 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4hxjp"The leader in the emerging field of Vital Status Services (VSS), Omnilink is the first company to use a combination of cellular technology, Global Positioning System (GPS), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and situation-specific sensors to determine the status of people and objects that can move, and inform clients immediately if relevant vital factors such as location, time, temperature, route, volume and pressure go outside predetermined thresholds. This next generation location services technology allows the judicial system to enforce accountability and compliance among offenders in house arrest, and also can provide victims an additional sense of security. Omnilink's system uses Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) technology, which can provide location information in the most impaired environments - inside buildings, buses, trains, containers (cartons, pallets) and more. "
http://digbig.com/4hxjp"The leader in the emerging field of Vital Status Services (VSS), Omnilink is the first company to use a combination of cellular technology, Global Positioning System (GPS), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and situation-specific sensors to determine the status of people and objects that can move, and inform clients immediately if relevant vital factors such as location, time, temperature, route, volume and pressure go outside predetermined thresholds. This next generation location services technology allows the judicial system to enforce accountability and compliance among offenders in house arrest, and also can provide victims an additional sense of security. Omnilink's system uses Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) technology, which can provide location information in the most impaired environments - inside buildings, buses, trains, containers (cartons, pallets) and more. "
Seeing through Gershon / CIPFA, 2 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4hxjn
David Martin
"Financial managers in the public sector are prepared to do what is required to make the Gershon efficiencies – but first they want some firm decisions on how the improvements will be measured. We are led to believe that there is deep scepticism over the public sector’s ability to achieve the £21.5bn in efficiencies set out in Sir Peter Gershon’s report."
David Martin
"Financial managers in the public sector are prepared to do what is required to make the Gershon efficiencies – but first they want some firm decisions on how the improvements will be measured. We are led to believe that there is deep scepticism over the public sector’s ability to achieve the £21.5bn in efficiencies set out in Sir Peter Gershon’s report."
Alcohol in Europe / Institute of Alcohol Studies, 2006
http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/news_alcoholineurope_en.htm
PDF download links for each section from above link.
PDF download links for each section from above link.
[Guyana] Passports thief likely from within immigration office / Stabroek News, 2 June 2006
http://digbig.com/4hxjh
"On May 1, the Police Public Relations Office announced that 100 new passports were missing.
Prior to that, the department was in the news when it was disclosed that Trinidadian David Millard, also called 'Buffy', had been issued with a Guyana passport sometime back.
This was uncovered recently when he and another Trinidadian and four Guyanese were found hiding out. Police officials had said that the passports, which were discovered missing from Morrison's office, were new and had not yet been issued to anyone. The serial numbers of the passports are 1142301 to 1142400."
"On May 1, the Police Public Relations Office announced that 100 new passports were missing.
Prior to that, the department was in the news when it was disclosed that Trinidadian David Millard, also called 'Buffy', had been issued with a Guyana passport sometime back.
This was uncovered recently when he and another Trinidadian and four Guyanese were found hiding out. Police officials had said that the passports, which were discovered missing from Morrison's office, were new and had not yet been issued to anyone. The serial numbers of the passports are 1142301 to 1142400."
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Police offered robot eye / Register, 1 June 2006
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/01/police_eye/
Mark Ballard
"Intelligence gets "intelligent. A firm that produces surveillance software used by numerous British police forces is looking for one of them to test its latest wheez, a programme that automatically scans CCTV footage for suspicious behaviour and matches it with other intelligence such as mugshots. The new software, by Nice Systems, can alert police when it detects loitering, crowd gathering, people running when they should be walking, tail-gating, parking in the wrong place, unauthorised entry, or any sort of behaviour the police want to track.
Mark Ballard
"Intelligence gets "intelligent. A firm that produces surveillance software used by numerous British police forces is looking for one of them to test its latest wheez, a programme that automatically scans CCTV footage for suspicious behaviour and matches it with other intelligence such as mugshots. The new software, by Nice Systems, can alert police when it detects loitering, crowd gathering, people running when they should be walking, tail-gating, parking in the wrong place, unauthorised entry, or any sort of behaviour the police want to track.
Meet The Hackers Cybercrooks are stealing billions / Business Week, 29 May 2006
http://digbig.com/4hxdw
"An inside look at law enforcement's biggest targets. BusinessWeek, working with information and photos supplied by officials at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, as well as state law enforcement agencies and private Internet security experts, compiled descriptions of some of the most sought-after targets in cybercrime investigations. Shown the list, the United States Secret Service said it is investigating some of those on it as well, but declined to comment further. The FBI also declined to comment.The picture that emerges is of organized gangs of young, mostly Eastern European hackers who are growing ever more brazen about doing business on the Web."
"An inside look at law enforcement's biggest targets. BusinessWeek, working with information and photos supplied by officials at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, as well as state law enforcement agencies and private Internet security experts, compiled descriptions of some of the most sought-after targets in cybercrime investigations. Shown the list, the United States Secret Service said it is investigating some of those on it as well, but declined to comment further. The FBI also declined to comment.The picture that emerges is of organized gangs of young, mostly Eastern European hackers who are growing ever more brazen about doing business on the Web."
In California, Promising Technology to Track Guns From Bullets at Crime Scenes Passes Key Test With Flying Colors / U.S. Newswire, 24 May 2006
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=66330
The next generation of ballistic identification technology, known as microstamping, passed an historic testing session in California. The test was conducted at the California Highway Patrol range by California State Assemblyman Paul Koretz, a West Hollywood Democrat. The results were verified by a representative of the California Criminalistics Institute. Microstamping technology utilizes lasers to make precise, microscopic engravings on the breech face and firing pin of a gun. As the gun is fired, information including the make and model of the gun is stamped onto the cartridge.
The next generation of ballistic identification technology, known as microstamping, passed an historic testing session in California. The test was conducted at the California Highway Patrol range by California State Assemblyman Paul Koretz, a West Hollywood Democrat. The results were verified by a representative of the California Criminalistics Institute. Microstamping technology utilizes lasers to make precise, microscopic engravings on the breech face and firing pin of a gun. As the gun is fired, information including the make and model of the gun is stamped onto the cartridge.
"Closer to a Safety Target" / Philadelphia Inquirer, 25 Mau 2006
http://digbig.com/4hxdr
Avril, Tom
Engineers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology say they have made progress in the development of a gun that can be operated only by its owner. They have created a prototype device that features sensors in the gun handle that can recognize a person's grip. Researchers says the "smart" gun can be put on the market within five years. " Meanwhile, the state of New Jersey has determined that within three years, all handguns sold in the state must feature some type of recognition technology. If passed, the law would be the only one of its kind in the country. Smart gun opponents say incorporating such technologies would cause gun prices to rise. Philip J. Cook, an economist at Duke University, estimates that if all handguns were equipped with recognition technology, more than 4,000 lives would be saved annually by preventing homicides, accidents, and teen suicides. FBI data indicates that one in six officers who are killed annually is killed with his or her weapon.
Avril, Tom
Engineers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology say they have made progress in the development of a gun that can be operated only by its owner. They have created a prototype device that features sensors in the gun handle that can recognize a person's grip. Researchers says the "smart" gun can be put on the market within five years. " Meanwhile, the state of New Jersey has determined that within three years, all handguns sold in the state must feature some type of recognition technology. If passed, the law would be the only one of its kind in the country. Smart gun opponents say incorporating such technologies would cause gun prices to rise. Philip J. Cook, an economist at Duke University, estimates that if all handguns were equipped with recognition technology, more than 4,000 lives would be saved annually by preventing homicides, accidents, and teen suicides. FBI data indicates that one in six officers who are killed annually is killed with his or her weapon.
Report says Burnley is still divided / Burnley citizen, 31 May 2006
http://digbig.com/4hxdk
Nick Evans
THE threat of spontaneous disorder remains in Burnley five years after the town was rocked by three days of rioting, a major new report concludes. However, much of the 100-page survey paints a positive picture of the town and the good work that is being done to address some of the challenges facing Burnley five years after the worst riots in its history.
BURNLEY - THE REAL STORY"
PDF - http://www.burnleyactionpartnership.com/downloaddoc.asp?id=1825
Nick Evans
THE threat of spontaneous disorder remains in Burnley five years after the town was rocked by three days of rioting, a major new report concludes. However, much of the 100-page survey paints a positive picture of the town and the good work that is being done to address some of the challenges facing Burnley five years after the worst riots in its history.
BURNLEY - THE REAL STORY"
PDF - http://www.burnleyactionpartnership.com/downloaddoc.asp?id=1825
Variability in the collective behaviour of England fans at Euro2004: Hooliganism, public order policing and social change / European Journal of Social
Psychology, 1 June 2006
PDF - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/112636731/PDFSTART
Clifford Stott, Otto Adang, Andrew Livingstone, Martina Schreiber
Abstract [Sub Required]
PDF - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/112636731/PDFSTART
Clifford Stott, Otto Adang, Andrew Livingstone, Martina Schreiber
Abstract [Sub Required]
IT: When it all comes crashing down / Legal Week, 1 June 2006
http://www.ias.org.uk/newsroom/pressreleases/press010606.html
Stephen Castell
"Major IT systems disputes are on the increase, but with the right tools, a full analysis of what went wrong between the IT supplier and the customer can help in resolving such issues, says Experienced observers and practitioners in procurement, contracting, management and delivery of major IT systems agree that the quality and certainty of these processes do not appear to be improving. Major IT project disasters continue to occur, particularly it seems, in the public sector, and those projects that do not end in total disaster still fail to live up to corporate investment expectations. Most come in late, over budget or fail to meet business requirements — depressingly, often all three. "
Stephen Castell
"Major IT systems disputes are on the increase, but with the right tools, a full analysis of what went wrong between the IT supplier and the customer can help in resolving such issues, says Experienced observers and practitioners in procurement, contracting, management and delivery of major IT systems agree that the quality and certainty of these processes do not appear to be improving. Major IT project disasters continue to occur, particularly it seems, in the public sector, and those projects that do not end in total disaster still fail to live up to corporate investment expectations. Most come in late, over budget or fail to meet business requirements — depressingly, often all three. "
The British Journal of Psychiatry (2006) 188: 501-a21.
Mental health needs of young offenders in custody and in the community
PRATHIBA CHITSABESAN, LEO KROLL, SUE BAILEY, CASSANDRA KENNING, STEPHANIE SNEIDER, WENDY MacDONALD, and LOUISE THEODOSIOUBJP 2006 188: 534-540. [Abstract] [Full Text]
Mental health provision for young offenders: service use and cost
BARBARA BARRETT, SARAH BYFORD, PRATHIBA CHITSABESAN, and CASSANDRA KENNINGBJP 2006 188: 541-546. [Abstract] [Full Text]
Economic cost of severe antisocial behaviour in children – and who pays it
RENEE ROMEO, MARTIN KNAPP, and STEPHEN SCOTTBJP 2006 188: 547-553. [Abstract] [Full Text]
[Sub required]
PRATHIBA CHITSABESAN, LEO KROLL, SUE BAILEY, CASSANDRA KENNING, STEPHANIE SNEIDER, WENDY MacDONALD, and LOUISE THEODOSIOUBJP 2006 188: 534-540. [Abstract] [Full Text]
Mental health provision for young offenders: service use and cost
BARBARA BARRETT, SARAH BYFORD, PRATHIBA CHITSABESAN, and CASSANDRA KENNINGBJP 2006 188: 541-546. [Abstract] [Full Text]
Economic cost of severe antisocial behaviour in children – and who pays it
RENEE ROMEO, MARTIN KNAPP, and STEPHEN SCOTTBJP 2006 188: 547-553. [Abstract] [Full Text]
[Sub required]
PITO drives savings for PoliceSource / eGov Monitor, 1 June 2006
http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/6187
"The Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) has helped save the police service up to £30 million a year by securing framework arrangements for the purchase of vehicles and vehicle spare parts. PITO has worked in partnership with the National Association of Police Fleet Managers (NAPFM) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to increase the buying power of the police service to make good, long-term savings."
"The Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) has helped save the police service up to £30 million a year by securing framework arrangements for the purchase of vehicles and vehicle spare parts. PITO has worked in partnership with the National Association of Police Fleet Managers (NAPFM) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to increase the buying power of the police service to make good, long-term savings."
Delaying retirement will stop older people volunteering / Online Recruitment, 1 June 2006
http://www.onrec.com/content2/news.asp?ID=11960
/06/2006 09:49:00
"Delaying the retirement age will prevent people from volunteering in later life, potentially robbing the voluntary movement of a huge army of retired volunteers and leaving many public and community services unstaffed, says a new YouGov survey for Volunteering England to mark the launch of Volunteers’ Week. The YouGov/Volunteering England poll reveals that nearly 70 per cent of working people who gave a view in England believe that because they may need to work longer before retirement they will be less likely to volunteer once in retirement. Currently, 50 per cent - more than 2 million - of retired people aged between 65 to 74 volunteer, according to the latest Home Office citizenship survey. Most report that they want to put their spare time to good use by volunteering in a range of roles from befriending and home visiting, driving and escorting patients from hospital to their homes."
/06/2006 09:49:00
"Delaying the retirement age will prevent people from volunteering in later life, potentially robbing the voluntary movement of a huge army of retired volunteers and leaving many public and community services unstaffed, says a new YouGov survey for Volunteering England to mark the launch of Volunteers’ Week. The YouGov/Volunteering England poll reveals that nearly 70 per cent of working people who gave a view in England believe that because they may need to work longer before retirement they will be less likely to volunteer once in retirement. Currently, 50 per cent - more than 2 million - of retired people aged between 65 to 74 volunteer, according to the latest Home Office citizenship survey. Most report that they want to put their spare time to good use by volunteering in a range of roles from befriending and home visiting, driving and escorting patients from hospital to their homes."
Asbos were not meant to stop play / Leeds Today, 31 May 2006
http://digbig.com/4hxcq
"WHEN the Asbo was introduced as a tool in the process of addressing and correcting thuggish anti-social behaviour, it was welcomed as an imaginative alternative to wielding a hammer to crack the nut of unruly childhood. Created principally to deal practically with youthful misbehaviour, its advantage was that it could encourage community responsibility and provide for neighbourhoods working together to live without fear of intimidation.But, oh dear, how quickly the Asbo has become an unwieldy hammer. How depressing that this one-time solution has turned into the problem most likely to divide neighbourhoods, create community tension and pass the buck of responsibility. And over what? Children kicking a football."
"WHEN the Asbo was introduced as a tool in the process of addressing and correcting thuggish anti-social behaviour, it was welcomed as an imaginative alternative to wielding a hammer to crack the nut of unruly childhood. Created principally to deal practically with youthful misbehaviour, its advantage was that it could encourage community responsibility and provide for neighbourhoods working together to live without fear of intimidation.But, oh dear, how quickly the Asbo has become an unwieldy hammer. How depressing that this one-time solution has turned into the problem most likely to divide neighbourhoods, create community tension and pass the buck of responsibility. And over what? Children kicking a football."
Confessions of an Immigrant to the U.K. / global Politician, 31 May 2006
http://globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=1821&cid=3&sid=74
Uche Nworah
"This is an indictment of the United Kingdom (UK) and other governments as much as it is a confession. Some of these western governments have allowed the nationalists and far rightists in their midst to dominate public discourse lately, and have in so doing subjected immigrants like me to every type of ridicule and shame. We are now public enemy number 1, and are portrayed to be responsible for every crime committed in their lands, as if prison and other lock-up facilities did not exist in these countries before we came."
Uche Nworah
"This is an indictment of the United Kingdom (UK) and other governments as much as it is a confession. Some of these western governments have allowed the nationalists and far rightists in their midst to dominate public discourse lately, and have in so doing subjected immigrants like me to every type of ridicule and shame. We are now public enemy number 1, and are portrayed to be responsible for every crime committed in their lands, as if prison and other lock-up facilities did not exist in these countries before we came."
Do we need a nicer nationalism? / Spiked Online, 31 May 2006
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/printable/339/
James Heartfield
"Do we need a nicer nationalism? David Goodhart is trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear with his call for 'progressive nationalism' in Britain."
James Heartfield
"Do we need a nicer nationalism? David Goodhart is trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear with his call for 'progressive nationalism' in Britain."
England more crowded than India, says British study / Telegu Portal, 31 May 2006
http://www.teluguportal.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5081
"London, May 31 (IANS) Is England more crowded than India and China? Yes, according to a British trust conducting research on population issues.In a new study by the Optimum Population Trust (OPT), England is said to be the fourth most densely populated country in the world. Mass migration into England, it said, was putting a huge strain on resources."
MASS MIGRATION DAMAGING THE PLANET
http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.release30May06.htm
Britain should fulfil its humanitarian obligation to genuine refugees and asylum-seekers but it must also recognise that mass international migration is harming the planet’s environment as well as its own, according to the Optimum Population Trust.
Evidence : http://www.appg-popdevrh.org.uk/
"London, May 31 (IANS) Is England more crowded than India and China? Yes, according to a British trust conducting research on population issues.In a new study by the Optimum Population Trust (OPT), England is said to be the fourth most densely populated country in the world. Mass migration into England, it said, was putting a huge strain on resources."
MASS MIGRATION DAMAGING THE PLANET
http://www.optimumpopulation.org/opt.release30May06.htm
Britain should fulfil its humanitarian obligation to genuine refugees and asylum-seekers but it must also recognise that mass international migration is harming the planet’s environment as well as its own, according to the Optimum Population Trust.
Evidence : http://www.appg-popdevrh.org.uk/
Bioethics: An easy way out? / Nature, 1 June2006
http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060529/full/441570a.html
"In the United Kingdom, roughly 2.4 million rodents were used in experiments in 2004, according to the Home Office, which oversees lab animals 1 . ... " [Sub required]
"In the United Kingdom, roughly 2.4 million rodents were used in experiments in 2004, according to the Home Office, which oversees lab animals 1 . ... " [Sub required]
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