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19th August |
Social Workers Prey
on the Fat of the Land... |
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|
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Local authorities get too big for their boots
|
Based on
article
from
dailymail.co.uk
|
The most obese youngsters should be seen as examples of 'parental
neglect' and handed over to social workers, according to the Local
Government Association (LGA).
A report by the LGA, which represents 400 authorities in England and
Wales, has warned that Britain is fast becoming the 'obesity capital of
the world'. And the LGA confirmed that in worst case scenarios, obese
children would be taken into care.
It has been estimated that by 2012 a million English children will be
obese and by 2025 around a quarter of all boys will be classified as
dangerously overweight.
The LGA also whinge about the cost of Britain's expanding
population. Schools are having to buy bigger chairs because so many
pupils are getting fatter, the GLA said. Schools are also buying bigger
classroom tables, while furniture in gyms and canteens is having to be
made wider for larger children for children with larger girths.
David Rogers, LGA spokesman on public health, called for a national
debate about the extent to which dangerous childhood obesity could be
considered as a factor contributing to parental neglect.
The GLA report also warned that the adult obesity crisis means
ambulances will have to be re-equipped with extra-wide stretchers and
winches. Buses and trams will soon accommodate fewer, larger passengers,
the report said. The LGA said crematoria furnaces were also having to be
widened at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds.
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17th August |
Britishness Is... |
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Gordon Brown snubbed over British Library exhibit
|
Based on
article
from
telegraph.co.uk
|
When
Gordon Brown called on the British Library to stage an exhibition about
Britishness he perhaps envisaged a patriotic celebration of the national
identity.
A spokesman for the British Library said: Downing Street initially
suggested a display of iconic British ideas. We took our lead from that
idea but the team has developed it.
What he would not have expected is the resulting event, Taking
Liberties, which encourages visitors to contemplate the perilous state
of civil liberties in modern Britain under his Government.
The exhibition, which is the most ambitious in the British Library's
history, is in direct response to a call from Brown for the institution
to hold a display of patriotism, and critics have described it as a
"snub" to the Prime Minister.
Visitors will be asked their views on issues such as ID cards and
detention of suspects for up to 42 days, both of which are key
Government policies.
Exhibits will be displayed in space in the shape of a clenched fist. As
visitors progress through the exhibition, the space gets smaller and
smaller to give the impression of confinement. Each visitor to the
exhibition will be given a personal ID number.
David Davis, the former shadow Home Secretary who recently stepped down
from the Parliament to force a by election on the issue of civil
liberties, said: It is an astonishingly good idea but is clearly a
snub to the Prime Minister and must be accurately embarrassing for him.
Gordon Brown likes to talk about Britishness a lot without understanding
that liberty is at the core of Britishness. It is our institutional DNA.
Our history and tradition of freedom run longer and deeper than any
other country.
A spokesman for the British Library said: The Taking Liberties
exhibition is very much our own idea. Obviously we listened to the Prime
Minister's initial thoughts but we decided in what direction we should
go. Of course its a risque subject but the Library wanted to come up
with something that was relevant to modern Britain.
The exhibition opens on October 31. The opening night will feature a
display by Gerald Scrafe, the cartoonist and a performance by the band
the Levellers.
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17th August |
Council Bedroom Snoops... |
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Councils demand to enter British homes to check how many people live
there
|
Based on
article
from
dailymail.co.uk
|
Town
hall snoopers are demanding access to people's bedrooms. Officials say
they need to enter and inspect properties where a council tax discount
is claimed.
Seven and a half million people are entitled to 25% off their annual
bill because they live on their own.
The Conservatives warned that householders are being pressured into
signing a declaration agreeing to an internal inspection of their homes
in order to prove they really are single.
council tax
One form, produced by Thurrock Council in Essex, reads: To be
completed and returned immediately if you wish to continue to claim
single person discount... I authorise the Council or its agents to make
enquiries to corroborate this claim. I will permit the Council or its
agents to inspect the property on request... If you do not do so, we
will have to cancel your discount and send you a revised bill for the
increased amount.
Shadow local government secretary Eric Pickles said there was evidence
that other councils were making similar demands. He said the move raised
the prospect of town hall officials entering law-abiding people's homes
looking for evidence of a 'hidden partner'.
Government guidance encourages councils to undertake 'spot check'
internal inspections of properties, giving practical tips how to
'maximise their time spent on inspections'.
Pickles said: Day by day under Labour, the rights and liberties of
law-abiding citizens are being undermined, with more and more state
officials trying to enter and spy on people's homes.
It may be appropriate for local authorities to check that council tax
discounts are not wrongly claimed. But it is wholly disproportionate to
threaten higher council tax bills if residents do not allow state
officials into their bedrooms. This is another worrying sign of function
creep.
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16th August |
Stasi Britain... |
|
|
|
Government set to allow councils to snoop on peoples email and website
records
|
Based on
article
from
telegraph.co.uk
|
Government powers to access millions of people's private phone records
are set to be extended to email accounts and website records, ministers
have said.
The news means that councils or quangoes could access private email
accounts or examine internet phone records to snoop on taxpayers.
It has emerged that Sir Paul Kennedy, the spying watchdog, said they
were not using their powers to examine phone bills and call records
enough.
Since last October phone companies have had to retain information about
all landline and mobile phone calls made by members of the public for
one year, and hand over the data to more than 650 public bodies and
quangos.
The move, approved by Parliament last July under the Regulation of
Investigatory Powers Act 2000, was justified as a vital tool in the
fight against terrorism but was then extended to enable council use to
investigate trivial offences.
The Home Office said it wanted to extend the powers to include people's
access to websites, email accounts and even phone calls made over the
internet using services like Skype.
A Home Office consultation document on implementing an EU directive on
electronic communications said the data would only be made available
to assist in the investigation, detection and prosecution of serious
crime.
[The government have also been busy
redefining lesser crimes as 'serious']
The cost of the new plan is likely to be borne by internet and
telecommunications companies, although the Home Office said this would
form part of the consultation.
The move has been heavily criticised, with claims that extending the
powers was further evidence of a "snoopers' charter".
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: Ministers
have proven time and time again that they are not to be trusted with
sensitive data, but they seem intent on pressing ahead with this
snoopers' charter. We will be told it is for use in combating terrorism and organised
crime but if RIPA powers are anything to go by, it will soon be used to
spy on ordinary people's kids, pets and bins. Once again, the Government seems prepared to be more invasive than its EU counterparts in seeking to hold phone records for two years rather
than six months.
Guy Herbert, a spokesman for the No2ID campaign, said the information
would be made available to hundreds of official bodies responsible
under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.
He said: As ever with the database state this is a mass-surveillance
measure for the retrospective convenience of officialdom in general.
The Home Office said that enforcement officers would only have access to
where emails were sent or received from and not their content.
A spokesman said: This data is a vital tool to investigations and
intelligence gathering in support of national security and crime.
Communications data allows investigators to identify suspects, examine
their contacts, establish relationships between conspirators and place
them in a specific location at a certain time. It also gives investigators the potential to identify other forensic
opportunities, identify witnesses and premises of evidential interest.
Many alibis are proven or refuted through the use of communications
data. Without the directive investigative opportunities will
increasingly be lost.
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15th August |
Dancing to the Policeman's Tune... |
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Bangalore police close down its nightlife out of fairness
|
Based on
article
from
indianexpress.com
|
The
new BJP Government tightening the screws on nightlife in Bangalore,
protestors are calling it ‘Bangalore bleeding’.
With the Bangalore police deciding to go strictly by the book again all
restaurants with live bands and dancing have been banned. Over the past
two Sundays musicians, artistes, disc jockeys and Bangalore’s partying
public have been protesting the reinforced ban at the Mahatma Gandhi
statue in central Bangalore. Participating in this Sunday’s protests,
writer and theatre personality Girish Karnad said the decision to ban
live music lacked logic. It will affect artistes adversely. Instead
of going after criminals the police are going after musicians.
Despite the protests featuring over 1000 people on Sunday, the Bangalore
police cracked down on as many as 32 discotheques operating without
valid licenses in the city.
The licensing order makes it mandatory for all places offering live
entertainment to be licensed by the police after meeting strict
standards. The Act prevents places serving alcohol from staying open
beyond 11:30 pm and women from dancing in places where alcohol is sold.
Though, the state home department has indicated a move to modify the
laws to reduce restrictions on nightlife, no legislative action has been
taken yet. New Bangalore police commissioner Shankar Bidari has stated
that he is willing to consider relaxation of nightlife rules if he
receives sufficient representation from the public.
The existing laws has resulted in a tussle between owners of lower end
dance bars and the upper end lounge bars and discotheques. The
introduction of the licensing rules for cabarets, dance bars,
discotheques and live bands in June 2005 had resulted in a clampdown on
all forms of dancing at public entertainment spots in Bangalore.
However, in December 2005, following appeals by owners of
establishments, the Supreme Court permitted live bands and dancing in
restaurants and hotels on the condition that the establishments didn’t
encourage prostitution or indecent shows. While the Bangalore police
allowed dancing and live music shows at pubs, restaurants, nightclubs
and discotheques, they imposed a more stringent curb on dance bars on
the grounds that they encouraged prostitution. This discrimination has
been challenged by owners of dance bars in the High Court resulting in a
complete clampdown on all nightlife.
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14th August |
Swedish Toy Equality... |
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Challenging state shops that sell only women's sex toys
|
Based on
article
from
timesonline.co.uk
|
Swedish
state-run pharmacies began to sell over-the-counter sex toys this
summer.
Now the shops are being hauled before the Equal Opportunies Ombudsman,
the government referee on sexual discrimination, after two men
complained that the erotic toys – the bestselling are vibrators and
vagina balls – discriminate against males.
The pharmacy chain, Apoteket, had a misguided and untrue view of
sexuality whereby a woman with a dildo is seen as liberated, strong and
independent, while a man with a blow-up plastic vagina is viewed as
disgusting and perverted, said one of the petitioners.
Apoteket responded with a bollox claim that there are no products of
good quality on the market for men.
The men were exercising their rights under a 2005 amendment to the Equal
Opportunities Act, which was supposed to right the balance in a society
in which women were seen as winning more and more ground.
It is said to be unlikely that the pharmacy chain will end up in court.
Swedish men have recently been railing against discrimination in favour
of women. Hairdressers and taxis are no longer allowed to offer
preferential rates to women. The entry age for clubs and discos has to
be the same for men and women. Dating services also have to charge the
same for males and females.
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12th August |
Illiberal Australian Liberals... |
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Liberal party against men satisfying their sexual pleasures
|
Based on
article
from
news.com.au
|
Western
Australia's Opposition Leader Colin Barnett said hw would scrap laws
legalising brothels. He said he would not allow brothels to spread
across suburbs. He intended to regulate the industry by licensing
brothels in designated areas.
If elected, a Liberal government will repeal the Prostitution
Amendment Bill 2007, Barnett said: A Liberal government will not
allow the spreading of brothels throughout the suburbs and towns of WA.'
Barnett and Opposition police spokesman Rob Johnson have been calling
for changes to WA's new prostitution laws for months.
Johnson said only a few designated areas would be allowed in WA: We
can't afford mini-brothels operating in residential areas where you have
men coming and going all the time to satisfy their sexual pleasures.
Legalising brothels hasn't worked in the east. Since legalising
brothels, there has been a proliferation of legal and illegal brothels.
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10th August |
Hot Property... |
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Property developers move into red light areas
|
See
article
from
ft.com
by Troy McMullen
|
Despite
its notorious reputation, the Reeperbahn is gaining some unexpected new
residents. As property values have risen sharply in Hamburg during the
past decade, smart residential buildings have increasingly crowded the
area. The latest addition is the Bavaria, a 28,000-sq metre complex that
includes dozens of luxury residences with panoramic views of the city,
and a boutique hotel designed by architect David Chipperfield.
There was a time when real estate developers would not have
considered building in an area with this kind of reputation, says
Nina Riedel, a managing partner at Engel & Voelkers, a Hamburg-based
property firm: Now we see more and more of them doing it and I really
don’t believe it will stop any time soon.
...Read full
article
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9th August |
Photography = Terrorism... |
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Police abuse of the Terrorism Act 2000
|
Based on
article
from
portsmouth.co.uk
|
 |
|
Have you got a licence
for that camera? |
A man was labelled a terrorist after he took a picture of a police car
parked at a bus stop.
David Gates found himself being questioned under the Terrorism Act after
he spotted the BMW in the middle of the box reserved for buses, and
decided to capture the image on his phone – apparently falling foul of
the anti-terror law in the process.
Gates was then questioned by two officers who asked why he had snapped
the picture of their vehicle, and they told him he was being quizzed
under the Terrorism Act 2000 because the picture could pose a security
risk.
They also said this law gave them the right to use stop-and-search
powers.
He said: I explained I'd taken the picture as their car was parked
illegally, and taking a photograph in public was not illegal. I
told them I thought using the Terrorism Act and suspecting me of being a
terrorist was ridiculous.
Gates said he co-operated with the officers and gave his details, which
were checked. He was told the record of the incident would be kept on
file for a year.
Mike Hancock, the Lib Dem MP for Portsmouth South, said: 'The whole
thing is quite bizarre. I don't have a problem with them parking at the
bus stop, but I do have a problem with them using this legislation for
something trivial like this and keeping it for a year.
Superintendent Neil Sherrington, the deputy commander for Portsmouth
police, said: Officers are given powers under the Terrorism Act to
stop and search. The act states that "this power can only be used for
the purposes of searching for articles of a kind which could be used in
connection with terrorism, and may be exercised whether or not the
constable has grounds for suspecting the presence of articles of that
kind".
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7th August |
Registered as Oppressive... |
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Turkey draft law to register porn buyers
|
Based on
article
from
hurriyet.com.tr
|
Turkey's
ruling AKP plans to register all purchases of pornographic material with
a new draft law.
According to the draft law, those purchasing pornographic publications
would be obliged to provide the retailer with their citizenship number
and signature, the report added.
Those names would be later handed to the Youth Sports General
Management, according to the regulation, Milliyet said.
AKP Deputy Edibe Sozen, who prepared the draft law in one year based on
laws in Germany, has sent her work to State Minister Murat Basesgioglu,
it added.
The draft law also foresees the construction of places of worships for
students from all religions at schools,
The new draft law is expected to raise eyebrows in Turkey as the country
awaits the ruling party to take steps to soothe concerns over secularism
after the court ruled that it undertakes activities that harm secularism
but stayed short of closing the party.
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7th August |
Serious Surveillance Escalation... |
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|
Government wants to use travel information for supposedly serious crimes
|
Based on
article
from
telegraph.co.uk
|
Confidential
personal details of millions of passengers flying into and out of
Britain should he handed over according to Government ministers.
Immigration minister Liam Byrne is also likely to say that these powers
to probe passenger records should be extended to other forms of travel
like the Eurostar train service between the UK and the Continent.
The news will alarm critics of the so-called Big Brother state which has
seen the Government encroach further into the private lives of British
citizens.
There were 200 million so-called passenger movements across UK borders
last year. By 2015 this figure is likely to have risen to 300 million.
Currently European Union regulations restrict the use of so-called of
"Passenger Name Record" data, including names and addresses, to
Governments to fight the threat from terrorists and organised crime.
However the Home Office has said that it believes these rules are too
narrow and enforcement officers should be able to use the information to
battle "any serious crime".
This would include immigration and revenue and customs offences.
Ministers are expected to agree that a firm definition of what is a
"serious crime" should be agreed across all member states.
The UK wants the information to be made available for domestic flights
and those between EU states. Currently the information can also only be
downloaded for flights between a European Union state and a third
country.
The Government will set out its position on using personal data from
passenger lists in a response to a House of Lords EU committee report on
passenger name records. In the report, which was published in June, the
peers warned the passenger records should only be used to identify
terrorists either in the planning or aftermath of an attack.
They warned that if the Government proceeded to push the boundaries of
what officials could use the information for, officials could lose the
co-operation of other EU states.
They said: They may find that the ability to use PNR data to assist
in the combating of more routine crime, including immigration, revenue
and customs offences, is insufficient to use data collected by other
member states.
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6th August |
Cool Welcome... |
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|
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Finland not impressed by the criminalisation of buying sex
|
Based on
article
from
yle.fi
|
The
majority of Finns believes that the 2006 partial outlawing of the
purchasing of sexual services hasn't put a damper on prostitution.
Some 60% of Finns deem that prostitution has not decreased since the
enactment of a law in 2006 that criminalised the purchasing of
sexual services in circumstances involving pimping or human
trafficking, finds a poll by daily tabloid newspaper Iltalehti.
73% of men would not fully criminalise the procurement of sex,
whereas about half of women would like to see a total ban on
prostitution enforced, state poll results.
The majority of the people interviewed likened prostitution to
exploitation. A third of women said buying sex is equivalent to
inflicting abuse; however, only a tenth of the interviewed men held
the same opinion.
Over 1,000 people were interviewed in the poll carried out by
pollster Taloustutkimus and commissioned by Iltalehti.
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6th August |
Shit Attitude at Verizon... |
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US ISP refuses to allow Dr Libshitz his name in an email address
|
Based on
article
from
philly.com
|
This
spring, the 69-year-old physician and his wife, Alison, were trying
to upgrade the Internet service in their summer place in Rehoboth
Beach, Del. They had dial-up. They wanted DSL.
When it was time to enter their user name and create an e-mail
address, Verizon wouldn't let them complete the job.
This is how Dr. Herman I. Libshitz remembers it:
We called their help line, and got a wonderful young man in the
Philippines who told us: "We can't install it because your name has
'shit' in it."
The doctor asked to speak with a supervisor.
The Libshitzes got the same answer from the supervisor, who
suggested they try misspelling their last name. That wouldn't do,
either.
The couple uses Libshitz in its e-mail address with Prodigy. So
there had to be some way around the rules, the two figured.
Several days later, Libshitz received a letter from Verizon's
customer-relations desk in Everett, Wash., informing him that he
could not have the user name because it didn't comply with company
rules.
So the couple returned the Verizon DSL kit. If I can't use my own
name, I'm going to stay with my AT&T dial-up, the doctor said:
The hell with them.
I called Sharon B. Schaffer, a Verizon spokeswoman, who offered a
refreshing answer to my question as to how this happened: I don't
have a clue. Actually, I'm kind of surprised. If this is Dr.
Libshitz's name, your name is your identity. He's had this his
entire life. . . . I think he needs a little bit of personal
attention.
A couple days later, she e-mailed me a formal response:
As a general rule (since 2005) Verizon doesn't allow questionable
language in e-mail addresses, but we can, and do, make exceptions
based on reasonable requests. The one from Dr. and Mrs. Libshitz
certainly is reasonable and we regret the inconvenience and
frustration they've been caused.
The doctor said he was willing to try again, but grudgingly:
These people have no trouble putting me in their phone book. They
send me mail with that name, they send me a bill routinely, and they
cash my checks with Libshitz on it. They just offended me.
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5th August |
Morality Dictators... |
|
|
|
Italian cities Padua and Verona fine people buying sex
|
Based on
article
from
ansa.it
|
Padua
has become the second big Italian city to boost fines for clients
who use street prostitutes.
Both Padua and Verona have now brought in fines of 500 euros for
clients caught with streetwalkers enabled by greater powers given to
city mayors by the government's emergency security decree.
'The security decree allows mayors to apply a range of fines from
50 to 500 euros, depending on the gravity of the behaviour of the
person committing the crime,' explained Verona Mayor Flavio
Tosi.
'In this case we have decided to apply the maximum sanction of
500 euros for the violation of our anti-prostitution order: a
deterrent that's much stronger than the 36 euros for holding up
traffic circulation that mayors had to make do with before the
security decree,' Tosi said.
At the moment only the exploitation of prostitution - pimping - is
illegal in Italy, but city mayors combat the phenomenon through the
use of fines, often via road traffic or public decency laws.
Padua was the first city to introduce an experimental scheme last
year harassing clients and introducing fines of 50 euros, which
resulted in prostitutes demonstrating against the measure in the
streets and offering anyone slapped with a fine a ''free service''.
'We fined around 500 people under the scheme, but we've always
said it wasn't effective because the sum was too low. Now with a
sanction ten times higher we hope to see street prostitution reduced
to zero,' said Padua's city policing assessor Marco Carrai.
Although the centre-right government is mulling over plans to
criminalise both soliciting and using prostitutes, these have yet to
get out of the starting box. Equal Opportunities Minister Mara
Carfagna and Interior Minister Roberto Maroni co-authored a new
prostitution bill in July which has still not been brought before
cabinet for approval.
Under the bill, prostitutes and clients could be fined up to 3,000
euros, while repeat offences would be punishable with 5-15 days in
jail.
It also includes harsher penalties for pimps and those who have sex
with minors, as well as ''assisted repatriation'' for minors without
a legal guardian in Italy.
Right-wing politician Daniela Santanche' is meanwhile convinced that
reopening brothels is the only way of getting prostitutes of the
streets. In June she announced she would begin collecting the
500,000 signatures necessary for a referendum to overturn the 1958
Merlin law - named after bill sponsor and Socialist senator Angelina
(Lina) Merlin - which closed down Italian brothels.
A survey for the Donna Moderna magazine in the same month showed
that 85% of Italians are in favour of reopening brothels.
According to a recent study there are some 100,000 prostitutes in
Italy, 65% of whom work on the streets and 35% in private residences
or clubs.
The study also calculated that prostitutes in Italy charge an
average of 30 euros per customer and generate a turnover in the
neighborhood of some 90 million euros a month. Clients were said to
number around nine million.
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5th August |
Truly Alarming... |
|
|
|
US Customs allowed to seize laptops indefinitely on a whim
|
Based on
article
from
dailymail.co.uk
|
Travellers
to the U.S. could have their laptops and other electronic devices
seized at the airport under new anti-terror measures.
Federal agents have been granted powers to take such devices and
hold them as long as they like. They do not even need grounds to
suspect wrongdoing.
The Department of Homeland Security said the policies applied to
anyone entering the country by land, sea or air, including U.S.
citizens.
The extent of the new powers, which have been secretly in place for
some time, was revealed in the Washington Post.
They cover hard drives, flash drives, mobile phones, iPods, pagers,
beepers, and video and audio tapes, as well as books, pamphlets and
other written materials, the report said.
Federal agents must take measures to protect business information
and lawyer-client privileged material.
Copies of data must be destroyed when a review is completed and no
probable cause exists to keep the information. But agents are
allowed to share the contents of seized computers with other
agencies and private entities for data decryption and 'other
reasons'.
The new powers came to light under pressure from civil liberties and
business travel groups after increasing numbers of travellers
reported that they had laptops, phones and other digital devices
removed and examined.
The development was described as 'truly alarming' by Wisconsin
Democrat Senator-Russell Feingold, who is investigating U.S. border
search practices. He said he intends to introduce legislation that
would require reasonable suspicion for border searches, as well as
prohibit profiling on race, religion or national origin.
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5th August |
Rubbish Government... |
|
|
|
British government to impose £110 on the spot fines for overfilled bins
|
Based on
article
from
telegraph.co.uk
|
Guidance
issued by the Government has told councils to impose fixed penalties
of "no less than £75" and up to £110, potentially a more severe
penalty than the £80 fine that police often hand out to those guilty
of drunk and disorderly conduct and shoplifters.
The Conservative Party condemned the move as a "new stealth tax"
after uncovering the guidance contained in the Flycapture
Enforcement manual produced by the Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs.
Offences for which the spotfines can be imposed include leaving a
wheelie bin lid ajar, putting the bin out on the wrong night or
leaving it in the wrong place.
The Flycapture Enforcement guidance says penalties for "waste
receptacle" offences must range between £75 and £110 and suggests a
standard fixed penalty of £100.
Earlier this year Gareth Corkhill, a bus driver from Whitehaven, was
given a criminal conviction after being taken to court when he
refused to hand over a £110-on-the-spot fine by council inspectors,
who found the lid of his wheelie bin open by four inches.
He was originally asked for the fine when he was confronted by
inspectors, from Copeland Borough Council in Cumbria, wearing
stab-proof vests and armed with photographic evidence of his crime.
Eric Pickles, the shadow local government secretary, said Labour was
creating an army of municipal bin bullies hitting law abiding
families with massive fines while professional criminals get the
soft touch. It is clear Whitehall bureaucrats are instructing
town halls to target householders with fines for minor breaches.
In the 12 months up to April last year, nearly 44,000 were fined
because they failed to close bin lids, put their rubbish out on the
wrong day, or left extra black bags alongside their bins.
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4th August |
Fascist Dictator... |
|
|
|
Italian mayor bans public gatherings and army patrols set to start in
major cities
|
Based on
article
from
telegraph.co.uk
|
As
soldiers prepare to be deployed on Italian streets, a city mayor has
been accused of Fascism after he passed an edict banning groups of more
than three people congregating in parks and public gardens.
The anti-gathering laws were enacted as thousands of soldiers were due
to take to the streets of Italian cities for the first time on Monday
under a controversial move by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to fight
crime.
Massimo Giordano, a member of Italy's anti immigration Northern League
party, defended the anti-gathering motion and claimed it would cut down
on unruly behaviour.
However opposition councillors said it was reminiscent of Benito
Mussolini's edict of the 1920's which banned groups of five or more
people.
The ban will not affect courting couples who flock to parks and gardens
in the northern Italian city of Novara, where Giordano holds power, but
if anyone is caught in a group of three or more they face a fine of 500
euro (£350).
Giordano said that the edict would ban gatherings in a bid to protect
public decorum and prevent damage to public parks and gardens from
people who gathered in them at night.
Novara, which has a population of 100,000, is not seen as a particularly
crime-ridden or violent city but the mayor passed the law after several
elderly residents complained of noise.
He has also banned the consumption of alcohol at the city's station
after 6pm and closed a immigrant cultural centre.
Opposition councillor Sara Paladini said: There is no emergency
situation in Novara - there is no need for such a Fascist edict. There
are other better ways to tackle the city's problems.
Around 3,000 troops are expected to begin patrolling streets of major
cities - including Rome, Milan, Naples, Bari, Palermo and Venice - on
Monday as part of a government clampdown on crime.
The capital has been earmarked for the highest number of troops - 1,000
will patrol high-profile locations such as stations, embassies and
diplomatic residences.
|
|
4th August |
No Photography: An Unwritten
Law... |
|
|
|
Since when did trying to have your photograph taken constitute a threat to
national security?
|
Based on
article
from
guardian.co.uk
by Mohammed Hanif
|
 |
|
Have you got a licence
for that camera? |
Photographic Privacy International's fated struggle to stop the Google
spy car stalking this country's streets has reminded me of my own brush
with London's photography police recently.
I was being photographed in Covent Garden. As I followed the
photographer's instructions and tried to come up with a smile that would
get people running to the nearest shop to buy my book, a security guard
on patrol around the piazza walked up and stood between the photographer
and me. The guard was quite a determined professional; he put one hand
in front of the camera lens and muttered darkly into his walkie-talkie.
Why would a potential terrorist (or people exhibiting suspect behaviour,
as the Met likes to describe them in its anti-terror publicity) pose in
front of an organic cosmetics stall and religiously follow the
instructions of a white, female professional photographer who looked
nothing if not an infidel? The photographer tried to test the resolve of
the security guard by stepping out of the covered area and making me
pose in front of a column. But the guard followed and covered the lens
again; he looked like a man with a mission to save London from desperate
debut writers and their collaborators in the photographic professions.
In the ensuing hour we were chased away from Nehru's bust outside the
Indian High Commission, and Citibank. Even the folks at Australia House
descended on us after we had set up the tripod, I had perfected my
writerly pose and we were only waiting for the clouds to part.
Update:
Unlicensed Hoax
Thanks to Andrea, 18th August 2008, see
article from The Register
The following apology was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and
clarifications column, Saturday August 2 2008
Contrary to a statement we made in the column below, the Metropolitan
Police do not require professional photographers operating in central
London to hold a police permit and wear a radio-linked ID tag. The
material on which this part of the column was based was a hoax. This has
been corrected. We apologise for its use.
This referred to a section of the Guardian article:
The photographer, very bitter by now, told me that the police treat
anyone with professional photography equipment as a suspect. According
to the professional group Editorial Photographer UK, if you want to take
pictures in central London you have to apply for a permit at Charing
Cross police station. The approval can take up to 28 days. Then, as a
part of Photo Safety Identity Checking Observation you are required to
wear "a thin fluorescent waistcoat" kitted with radio frequency
identification (RFID) tag. The Met has assured the photographers that
RFID is a cheap and "passive device that needs no batteries".
A spokesperson for the Met told the photographers' group earlier this
year that cameras are potentially more dangerous than guns.
|
|
4th August |
Hanging Out... |
|
|
|
Topless sunbathing out of fashion is St Tropez
|
Based on
article
from
telegraph.co.uk
|
According
to reports coming from France, sunbathers on the Cote d'Azur, who once
adopted a "laissez faire" attitude to nakedness, have turned against
displaying too much bare flesh.
Even regulars at La Voile Rouge beach club on Pampelonne's Beach, in St.
Tropez, where it all started prefer to keep their top on.
The development has sparked a minor debate in the country which has
always prided itself on being less prudish than its Anglo-Saxon
neighbours.
For some it is simply a change in fashion, for others it marks a new
conservatism sweeping France. Yet others say it is to do with increased
health concerns about skin cancer and sensitivities to the growing
Muslim community.
|
|
4th August |
Repression Unveiled... |
|
|
|
Ladyboys jailed after participating in Malaysian beauty pageant
|
Based on
article
from
afp.google.com
|
Four
transvestites arrested in a raid on a beauty pageant have appealed a
one-week jail sentence imposed by a Malaysian Islamic court for dressing
as women.
Islamic officials last week detained 16 transvestites competing in the
"Miss Universe Asia 2008" contest at a beach resort hotel in the
northeastern state of Kelantan, which is ruled by the fundamentalist PAS
party.
Mohamad Abdul Aziz, chief assistant director of enforcement in the
state, told AFP that four transvestites were found guilty by the Islamic
Sharia court: Four of them were charged in the Sharia court Sunday
for wearing female outfits. The court found them guilty and imposed a
seven-day jail sentence and a fine of 1,000 ringgit (310 dollars).
But they appealed against the jail sentence and the court freed them
on bail. Mohamad said one transvestite was released because he
wore a Malay traditional outfit. The other 11 who were wearing
evening gowns will be charged on August 24. They are also on bail.
Mohamad said the beauty contest attracted many participants because the
first prize was a trip to Indonesia's island resort of Bali. He said it
was the first time that authorities had made such a mass arrest in the
state
|
|
3rd August |
Government Propaganda... |
|
|
|
Yet another step towards Orwellian Britain
|
New Labour seem hell bent on imprisoning more or less anybody who
doesn't comply with their narrow minded New Morality. And so now with the
police and authorities hassling ever more people, it isn't surprising that
the government feel that their image needs a bit of a propaganda boost.
Based on
article
from
telegraph.co.uk
|
Beat:
Life on the Street is a documentary funded by the Government
following the lives of PCSO's. The Government-funded propaganda
portrayed PCSOs as dedicated, helpful and an effective adjunct to the
police
The Government has spent almost £2 million to fund programmes that are
all but indistinguishable from regular shows, The Sunday Telegraph has
established.
But unlike normal documentaries, the programmes are commissioned by
ministers with the purpose of showing their policies or activities in a
sympathetic light.
The media watchdog Ofcom has disclosed that it had opened an
investigation into one of the programmes, Beat: Life on the Street
to see whether it breached its broadcasting code.
Media freedom campaigners, broadcasters and opposition politicians
expressed alarm over the Government-funded documentaries.
The Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow said: I find it extraordinary. So
the Government is funding commercial television productions highlighting
government policy? Presumably they don’t criticise government policy.
The Government has funded at least eight television series or individual
programmes in the past five years. Subjects range from an Army
expedition to climb Everest to advice for small businessmen on how to
improve their company’s fortunes.
However, the show about PCSOs and a newly commissioned programme about
Customs and Immigration officers are particularly controversial because
they deal with sensitive political issues and policies.
Beat: Life on the Street, which was supported with £800,000 of
funding from the Ministry of Propaganda. One Whitehall source admitted
of the documentary: It allows the Government to have more air time
and get its message across to people. Ministers are so pleased with
the way the series, which drew in audiences of three million people on
ITV and changed the public’s perception of the officers, that they
commissioned a third series, to be broadcast next year.
But The Sunday Telegraph established that the programmes appeared to
break Ofcom’s broadcasting code by not making it clear that they were
funded by the Ministry of Propaganda.
In a further apparent breach of Ofcom rules, this time on independence,
Ministry of Propaganda officials were directly involved in the making of
the series. They were allowed to view a second edit of individual
programmes and were able to suggest changes to some of the “terminology”
and “language” used in the narration.
David Ruffley, the shadow police minister, said: People want the
Government to put police on our streets, not propaganda on our
television sets.
|
|
3rd August |
Images of Repression... |
|
|
|
The UK government look towards the tracking of mobile phone images
|
Based on
article
from
p10.hostingprod.com
|
Reading
the Committee on Culture, Media and Sport Report into Harmful content
on the Internet and in Video Games, there is an evil, ill thought
out recommendation which should be thoroughly condemned::
Controlling conduct-based risks and
cyberbullying
138. We note that mobile phone call records would make it possible to
establish that a particular phone had been used to upload content onto
a video-sharing website at a particular time but would not necessarily
identify the images uploaded or the person who had used the phone to
upload them.
Given that images or videos taken by mobile
devices may be uploaded to social networking sites or video sharing
sites on impulse, it would seem important to be able to have a record
of the nature of content handled, should it be offensive, harmful or
even illegal.
It may be that the mobile phone industry
could develop technology which would allow images uploaded by mobile
devices to be viewed, thereby helping in the process of assembling
evidence if inappropriate conduct has taken place.
We recommend that network operators and
manufacturers of mobile devices should assess whether it is
technically possible to enable images sent from mobile devices to be
traced and viewed by law enforcement officers with the appropriate
authority.
If such currently non-existent technology is developed in the UK,
presumably by magic, since the Committee has not come up with any
research and development funding, what will prevent this selfsame mobile
phone image tracking technology from being abused, in say, China,
Russia, Zimbabwe, Burma, Pakistan etc. to hunt down political dissidents
and opponents of those authoritarian regimes ?
Innocent photographers in the UK already suffer from illegal harassment
by Police Constables, Police Community Support Officers and Private
Security Guards. Why should they welcome their mobile phone retained
Communications Traffic Data being trawled, just in case their
copyrighted images might of interest in a Police investigation ?
Why should mobile phone photographers be hunted down and identified, if
the Police or shyster lawyers representing rich and powerful people or
organisations, try to suppress their images?
The dreadful dictatorship appeasing commercial monopoly of the
International Olympic Committee springs to mind. They already seem set
to inflict Beijing 2008 style monopoly enforcement on the London 2012
Olympic Games.
|
|
1st August |
Crystal... |
|
|
|
Heidi Fleiss documentary details ideas for gigolo brothel
|
Based on
article
from
timesonline.co.uk
|
Would
a woman ever pay to have sex with a man at a brothel? If you believe
Heidi Fleiss, the clearly unstable yet strangely charming former
“Hollywood madam” (she served 21 months in federal prison for tax
evasion related to her dial-a-hooker business), the answer is yes.
Hence the ultra-modern, oyster-shaped complex she has designed to be
constructed just outside a town in the Nevada desert with the very
unsexy name of Pahrump. Fleiss is convinced that the frustrated
housewives of America want nothing more than to drive to one of the most
godforsaken places on the planet to pay hundreds of dollars to be groped
by an off-duty and probably homosexual Chippendale.
Her ideas are detailed in a sadly compelling new HBO documentary,
Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal (Crystal being the name
of the proposed brothel location, as well as a snide reference to
crystal meth, to which Fleiss appears hopelessly addicted).
As Fleiss mentally and physically disintegrates throughout the film, you
get the feeling The Stud Farm might have been one of the greatest PR
con-jobs of all time. But for all the suggestions that Fleiss was
planning to open the place up to gays, thus guaranteeing profitability,
I like to think she was genuinely interested in the brothel as a social
experiment. For that reason alone I hope she cleans up and gets her
licence.
|
|
31st July |
Toronto Swings... |
|
|
|
Legal swingers clubs prove very popular in Canada
|
Based on
article
from
theglobeandmail.com
|
After
a full day of sightseeing, Diane set out to do what she came to Toronto for:
I went to Club Hers and they were having a blast.
I went to Wicked and there were lots of pretty people there. Diane
is into "the lifestyle," and Toronto is her sexual playground: I try to get
here once every other month.
The Greater Toronto Area i(GTA) s now home to at least a dozen establishments
that describe themselves variously as "swingers' clubs," "hedonists' clubs" and
"lifestyle clubs," and which are increasingly drawing clients from afar.
Ménage à Quatre, a new lifestyle club, has just opened in Etobicoke,
bringing the total number of such establishments in the GTA to at least 12. The
sex clubs have been proliferating since 2005, when a Supreme Court decision
rewrote the definition of indecency, ruling that clubs that offer group sex and
partner-swapping are legal because they cause society no harm.
Wicked, Club Hers and Ménage à Quatre are all "on-premise"
establishments, meaning that clients can engage in sexual activities in the club
- and just about anything, as long as it is consensual, goes.
On-premise clubs are illegal in some U.S. states, but even in states where they
are technically legal, such as New York, the practice isn't well tolerated, says
Richard Pollara, proprietor of Ménage à Quatre.
Although in operation only two months, Pollara's club already has 400 members:
I would say that 25 to 30% of the people who are coming to the club are
coming from more than an hour away, and the vast majority of them are coming
from two or three hours away.
Wicked, which has been in operation for almost six years, claims 30,000
members. Ms. Benzion says membership spiked following the Supreme Court's
ruling. The legitimization drew a lot of traffic from south of the border,
she says. But membership swelled locally as well. The media coverage brought the
lifestyle to people's attention, while the ruling legitimized it for people who
might not have risked it.
Wicked's clientele is a far cry from most preconceptions of traditional
swingers: over-tanned and over the hill, bobbing in a hot tub. Wicked does have
a Jacuzzi, but the similarities end there. The crowd on a recent Saturday
evening was multicultural, relatively young, and obviously well-groomed for the
occasion.
Mr. Benzion, a savvy businessman, is aware of the revenue his establishment
brings to the city. I'd like to see more backup from the municipal
government. The same way as they're backing up Pride. In future, if we are doing
good for the city, I'd like to see some recognition.
|
|
30th July |
The WI Guide to Brothels... |
 |
|
Women's Institute tour the worlds legal brothels
|
Thanks to Donald
Based on
article
from
thesun.co.uk
See
also article from the Daily Mail
|
The
WI Guide To Brothels, C4, August 3, 10pm
WI members will go on a whirlwind tour of some of the world’s brothels
in a new Channel 4 documentary.
Hampshire WI members Jean Johnson and Shirley Landels met the working
girls in a licensed Bunny Ranch brothel in Nevada and visited a upmarket
prostitution co-operative in New Zealand.
On their return they try to create a version of the perfect British
brothel.
The documentary The WI Guide To Brothels is part of a Women’s
Institute campaign calling for the legalisation of brothels in Britain
and the reform of prostitution laws.
It’s been made with investigative journalist Nicky Taylor who in the
film talks to women who sell their bodies on British streets and work in
illegal brothels.
Nicky also talks to lap dancers, helps a prostitute’s maid, mans an
X-rated phone sex line and tries to sell her body in a Winchester shop
window.
In Auckland, the ladies accompanied an inspector to the "gentleman's
retreat" Purely Blue brothel and said: It was lovely.
And at the Bonton, a boutique-style venue in a suburban house, workers
had degrees and professional jobs.
Magnificent, was the verdict from the British visitors: Very
discreet, no one would know what was happening. What I liked was there
were two girls there, which provided safety for each other. It's what
they call a small owner-operated brothel. And the hours were so
civilised - 10am to 7pm Monday to Friday. Just like a regular job,
really.
The pair said it was a perfect model for a British brothel: clean, safe
and not seedy in the least.
Comment:
Purely Blue
From Donald
This is the brothel they talk about
the
Purely Blue Brothel in Auckland, New Zealand,
NZ$120 for 30mins is £45
interesting, they have their own coffee brand!
See also
Auckland's brothels receive rave reviews in new Brit documentary
|
|
29th July |
Snooping in the Back Row
of the Movies... |
|
|
|
Odeon cinemas install CCTV
|
Based on
article
from
telegraph.co.uk
|
Courting
couples smooching in the back row at the movies could become the
unwitting stars of a new genre of romantic film after the installation
of Big Brother-style cameras at cinemas.
Odeon, the UK's largest cinema chain, has put CCTV cameras in nine
cinemas across the country.
Gareth Crossman, the policy of Liberty, the human rights campaigners,
said: Film-goers should be informed of the presence of the cameras so
that they can go elsewhere if they are unhappy with being filmed
themselves.
An Odeon spokesman said the cameras had resulted in a dramatic fall of
disruptive incidents. He added: The camera system and subsequent
footage is solely for the safety and security of guests and footage
recorded is automatically erased after 31 days.
There is prominent signage throughout cinemas informing guests that CCTV
is in operation, with a telephone number provided for further
information.
|
|
27th July |
Conjugal Rights... |
|
|
|
Europeans have the right to have non-European spouses live in their
country
|
Based on
article
from
news.bbc.co.uk
|
The
European Union's top court has ruled that non-EU nationals married to EU
citizens are entitled to live in their spouse's country.
The court overruled a law in the Republic of Ireland, which grants
residency only to those who have previously lived in an EU member state.
The European Court of Justice said the Irish refusal of residence
permits contradicted an EU directive.
The right of a national of a non-member country who is a family
member of a Union citizen to accompany or join that citizen cannot be
made conditional on prior lawful residence in another member state,
the ruling said.
The (EU) Directive applies to all Union citizens who move to or
reside in a member state other than that of which they are a national,
and to their family members who accompany them or join them in that
member state.
The case against the Irish justice ministry was brought by four African
men married to EU citizens resident in Ireland. The men had been refused
residence permits.
|
|
27th July |
Paddling in Inanity... |
|
|
|
Paddling pool photo ban highlights council inanity
|
Based on
article
from
dailymail.co.uk
|
Southampton
City Council has apologised to two women pensioners after a worker
reprimanded them for photographing a deserted paddling pool over fears
about paedophiles.
The council said staff would now be advised to use their discretion when
seeing people taking photographs at the pool on Southampton Common, the
council said today.
Betty Robinson and Brenda Bennett had taken snaps of the pool area when
the female council worker ordered them to stop.
Mrs Robinson told the Southern Daily Echo: It's absolutely
ridiculous. After asking why we couldn't take photos she told us those
were the rules. It's pathetic - bureaucracy gone mad.
Mike Harris, head of leisure and inanity at Southampton City Council,
said in a statement: 'I'm sorry if we have caused any offence on this
occasion: A lot of people are more concerned about the safety of
their children these days so it is appropriate that our staff are aware
of who is taking photos.
|
|
27th July |
Ridiculous Lesbos... |
|
|
|
Greek island refused ban of the word lesbian
|
Based on
article
from
dailymail.co.uk
|
Residents
of the Greek island of Lesbos have lost their legal bid to ban the use
of the word lesbian to describe gay women.
The group had argued that the word insulted their identity.
Lesbos was the birthplace in 7BC of Sappho, whose love poems inspired
the term lesbian.
An Athens court said the word did not define the identity of the
residents of the island, and so it could be used validly by gay groups
in Greece and abroad.
The ruling also ordered the three plaintiffs to pay court expenses.
Vassilis Chirdaris, lawyer for the Gay and Lesbian Union of Greece,
said: This is a good decision for lesbians everywhere. A court in
Athens could not stop people around the world from using it. It was
ridiculous. Chirdaris said the plaintiffs are free to appeal against
the decision in a higher court.
|
|
26th July |
Up to their Necks in the Sand... |
|
|
|
Dubai to throw the book at sex on the beach couple
|
Based on
article
from
telegraph.co.uk
|
Two
Britons accused of having sex in public on a Dubai beach have been
charged with the most serious offences open to the authorities.
Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors had hoped to escape with a caution after
they publicly apologised to the police officers involved in the case.
But the pair, who as part of their bail conditions are unable to leave
Dubai, have been charged with three offences which could mean a maximum
sentence of six years in prison if found guilty.
The triple charges are indecent behaviour, having unmarried sex and
having consumed alcohol.
Update:
Just Kissing
16th August 2008
The couple were summoned to appear before Dubai's Court of First
Instance yesterday in a hurried hearing organised in a bid to ward off
the intense media interest the case has generated both in the Muslim
country and abroad.
They admitted consuming alcohol but denied the other offences. Legal
sources said that unusually, they have opted to represent themselves in
the case.
Judge Hamad Abdul Latif yesterday adjourned the case and both Palmer and
Acors were ordered to stay in the country until the next court hearing,
which according to some reports will be on September 2.
|
|
25th July |
Fag End Censorship... |
|
|
|
Manchester council pushes for adults only certificates for movies with
smoking
|
Based on
article
from
telegraph.co.uk
|
Council
leaders in Manchester will discuss the proposals, which have been backed
by health officials.
They are asking for special powers to put "restrictive" ratings on films
that they believe encourage smoking.
This could mean films that have PG ratings elsewhere in Britain are
rated 18 in Greater Manchester's cinemas. Children could even be banned
from watching cartoons such as 101 Dalmations because it shows
people smoking cigarettes.
Local councils have the power to overrule BBFC cinema certificates.
A report by the Greater Manchester Health Commission, to be discussed by
the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA), says town
halls should take into account smoking when giving a classification
to film.
 |
Very talented, rich,
world renowned and a smoker...
Thanks to DavidT |
The region's 10 councils may also cut funding to theatres that put on
plays involving smoking.
The GMHC's report also urges the Government to ban drivers from smoking,
to reclassify all films featuring smoking to be rated 18 and to ban
smoking in television programmes.
Neil Rafferty, of pro-smoking lobby group Forest, said: It is
nannyism of the worst kind.
The BBFC insisted there was no need to classify all films as 18 just
because they showed characters smoking. A spokesman said: If we see
smoking in films which is actively promoting smoking to young people we
would take action against them, give them a higher rating if necessary.
But there is less and less smoking in films these days simply because
people are unable to smoke in public locations.
|
|
24th July |
Old Wives' Tale... |
|
|
|
New restrictions on bringing Thai brides back to the UK
|
Some of these ideas made the news earlier as suggestions in a
consultation. Many have now been formed upBased on
article
from
timesonline.co.uk
|
Teenage
foreign brides and bridegrooms are to be barred from entering Britain on
marriage visas under measures announced yesterday.
The minimum age at which British citizens can sponsor a foreigner to
enter the country as a spouse is to rise from 18 to 21, as is the
minimum age at which a bride or groom can themselves enter on a marriage
visa.
But proposals to force foreign spouses to learn English before they
arrive have been watered down after running into opposition. Instead,
spouses will be required to promise to take basic English lessons within
six months of arriving in the UK or risk the revocation of their
marriage visa allowing them to stay.
Liam Byrne, the Immigration Minister, said the introduction of English
tests before spouses moved to the UK remained the Government's
medium-term goal. The Home Office claimed it would be impractical to
demand that people sat tests before they arrived because English lessons
are not widely enough available overseas, particularly in rural areas.
Yesterday's measures, many of which will be implemented by the end of
the year, follow growing concern at the extent of forced marriages and
at the abuse of the marriage visa route by people who would otherwise
find it very difficult to qualify for entry.
A total of 47,000 people entered Britain in 2006 as a spouse or fiancé(e),
more than double the number a decade earlier. The measures will hit
hardest 17,000 spouses and fiancé(e)s from the sub-continent.
In addition to raising the age for sponsoring a marriage visa to 21, and
barring teenage spouses from entering Britain until they are 21, Britons
will have to register their plans to sponsor a marriage visa before they
leave the country. This is intended to stop young people being taken
abroad and coerced into marriage.
Young people in such circumstances will have to name their prospective
partner before travelling abroad and possibly undergo a face-to-face
interview with an immigration officer. This will give a person who may
be fearful of causing trouble with their family the opportunity to
inform the authorities that they are being forced, bullied or have
reservations about the marriage.
In a move intended to stop the abuse of marriage visas, a spouse who
enters Britain and then abandons their partner, or who is suspected of
misusing the marriage visa to gain settlement in Britain, could be
stripped of their right to remain.
The Home Office admitted that teenage spouses who will no longer be able
to enter Britain with a marriage visa because of the higher age limit
could try other routes, such as a visitor or student visa.
The timetable for introducing the English language requirement will be
published in the autumn but the measure is likely to be in force by the
end of the year, a Home Office spokeswoman said.
Ministers are to consider requiring sponsors of marriage visas to
provide much more information about the relationship on application
forms.
|
|
24th July |
Prudetory Policy... |
|
|
|
Tories prudes to allow banning of lap dancing with trumped up reasons
|
Based on
article
from
news.sky.com
|
Plans
to give greater powers to local communities to determine whether lap
dancing clubs should be set up in their area will be unveiled by the
Conservatives today.
Theresa May, Shadow Minister for Women, will announce that the Tories
will give local authorities the power to decide whether a lap dancing
club is appropriate.
A three month consultation with local authorities, starting today, will
determine the most effective way of changing the current regulations,
she says.
Local communities should be able to decide whether it is appropriate
for lap dancing clubs |