The Great Veil Debate

This veil debate is just going over the top and is starting to smell of something in the way of stirring up trouble against the British and Islamic ways of life.

 

Jack Straw only asked if Muslim women would "not wear veils which cover the face" when they attended his Blackburn constituency surgeries. He did not ask them to take their cloths off and did not ask that they not wear head scarf's or the full covering dress nor did he criticise the Muslim faith. He just believed that covering people's faces could make community relations more difficult and he has a right to have this view. We know how much facial expressions are needed to help in the communication of words, it may not be for the Islamic language but it is for English.

But what gets me about this new state of the debate involving Ms Azmi, who was suspended from a school for wearing a full face veil whilst teaching her pupils is this, Why was she working at a Church of England school in the first place? there are many Islamic schools that need teachers, why did she not work there where she could wear a full face veil without causing problems.

The court heard that when she applied for the job and attended the interviews she did not mention that she would have to wear a veil and was not wearing a full face veil at the time of the interview. She must of known that by wearing a veil at the Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury would cause problems. Seems a certain person knew and wanted to challenge our religious establishment or at the least stir up trouble. She did not loose her job and continues to receive her salary, thought to be about £15,000, she was just suspended for refusing to NOT teach without the veil.

 

The confusing thing is that she stated that her religion dictates that women wear the full face veil yet the women in Muslim countries state that it is not compulsory for women to wear the full face veil and that they do not wear it because they feel that it is repressive of the Muslim women.

 

Clive

[BBC News] FoE criticises recycle bag fine

This is a prime example of County Councils getting greedy and abusing their new powers.

 

Clive

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FoE criticises recycle bag fine

Environmental campaigners have criticised the prosecution of a man for the wrong rubbish in a recycling bag.

Magistrates fined Swansea journalist Michael Reeves £200 after finding him guilty of putting paper in a recycling sack for bottles and cans.

The 28-year-old denied putting an item of junk mail in the bag.

Julian Rosser, from Friends of the Earth (FoE), said: "I think what we really need to do in recycling at the moment is to encourage people to

recycle."

He added: "Local authorities need to be putting in good schemes and publicising them well to people so that more and more people are recycling.

We don't want to create the idea that recycling is difficult - recycling is not difficult Environmentalist Howie Watkins

"It seems very much that prosecuting somebody for what appears to be a little slip is not going to help that and is going to put people off recycling and that's bad news."

Environmentalist Howie Watkins said he sympathised with Mr Reeves and Swansea Council, but warned that local authorities should not make recycling appear too complex.

He said: "[The authorities] have developed an infrastructure to allow us to recycle and as part of that there's an element of responsibility on everybody to separate their waste, so it gets recycled in the proper manner.

"But I suppose the other side of the coin in all of this is that we don't want to create the idea that recycling is difficult - recycling is not difficult, it's quite a simple process."

Strict rules

Mr Reeves, a sports writer with the city's Evening Post, was served with a warning notice in April this year when he put his bins out a day early because he was going on holiday.

Then in June a green recycling bag was found outside his ground floor flat in the Mount Pleasant area of the city containing both paper and bottles and cans.

The court heard on Tuesday that the letter, which was addressed to him, "contaminated" the other items put out for recycling.

I have not recycled since I received the summons Michael Reeve

Magistrates in the city were told under the Environmental Protection Act, councils could impose strict rules on their refuse collection services.

They found him guilty and fined him £100 and ordered him to pay £100 costs.

After the hearing, Mr Reeves described the case as "crazy".

"I don't believe they proved beyond reasonable doubt that I put the paper in the bag - I did not," he said.

"I have not recycled since I received the summons.

"People are not going to recycle if they end up in court and it costs them £200."

Swansea Council said it was increasing efforts to educate people about recycling and the rules.

"Legal action is the last resort and in Mr Reeve's case he failed to comply with an enforcement notice drawing his attention to the existing recycling arrangements," said a spokesman.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/wales/south_west/6061446.stm

[telegraph] New speed cameras could be ruled illegal

New speed cameras could be ruled illegal

By David Millward, Transport Correspondent

(Filed: 16/10/2006)

 

Source: Telegraph

The latest generation of speed cameras which record number plates and take pictures of drivers could be illegal, a Government watchdog has warned. Sir Andrew Leggatt, the Surveillance Commissioner, has said that new laws are needed to prevent the evidence the cameras provide from being successfully challenged in the courts. According to Sir Andrew, the cameras could be classed as "covert surveillance" and could be declared inadmissable. "It probably also amounts to the obtaining of private information about any such person, whether or not that person has been identified for the purposes of the investigation," he said. "The procedure will therefore be vulnerable to challenge unless it is authorised." Sir Andrew warned there could be "human rights" issues if the material was used to build up a picture of the movement of particular people or vehicles. His reservations could have serious implications for the newest cameras, which aim to stop motorists ducking responsibility for speeding by claiming that somebody else was at the wheel. "Speed cameras used to be rear-facing but now they look at the front of the car to try to avoid people trying to pervert the course of justice by claiming they weren't driving," said Paul Watters, of the AA Motoring Trust. "I am a supporter but they do have to be legal." According to Paul Smith, a campaigner against speed cameras, the use of front-facing cameras capable of identifying not only the number plate but also the driver is on the increase. "They have put 10 in Essex," he said. "This is a growing trend, it is their way of saying there is no escape." Sir Andrew said that signs telling motorists that cameras are in place would not necessarily prevent a legal challenge because the driver would not have been warned that he or she could also have his picture taken. Such cameras underpin a raft of Government policies, from tracking the movements of criminals to identifying uninsured vehicles and enforcing speed limits. They are also used by councils and private companies to issue parking tickets. Transport for London uses them for enforcing the congestion charge and they could form part of the technology employed in any urban or motorway road pricing system. Even this information could be subject to challenge in the courts unless the law is updated to keep up with the rapid advance of technology, Sir Andrew said. A Home Office spokesman said last night: "We have noted the comments in the Chief Surveillance Commissioner's annual report. There is a review currently under way."

[Khallji Times] British police want spy planes to fight anti-social behaviour

British police want spy planes to fight anti-social behaviour
(AFP)
15 October 2006

Source: Khallji Times

LONDON - A British police force is considering using unmanned aerial surveillance drones to fly over troubled local council housing estates to help tackle anti-social behaviour in respective areas, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

The police force for Merseyside, in western England, has formed a new Anti-Social Behaviour Task Force which will have a budget of one million pounds (1.85 million dollars, 1.5 million euros), and a staff of 137, drawn from both the local police and fire services.

‘It’s a cheap way of doing aerial surveillance, it’s a cheap way of doing intelligence and evidence gathering. Put over an anti-social behaviour hotspot, it is quite a significant percentage cheaper than the force helicopter,’ said Superintendent John Myles, the joint-head of the task force.

‘There may be some hurdles. The Civil Aviation Authority may say that it is a no-no, but I don’t think it is at the moment,’ he said.

The newspaper reported that police forces in the United States have used similar drones, which cost about 16,000 pounds each, and circle areas at a height of 250 feet (76 metres), flying at about 30 miles (50 kilometres) per hour.

[times online] Terror suspect escapes from hospital

Terror suspect escapes from hospital By Times Online

A terror suspect under a control order has been on the run from authorities for two weeks after escaping from a mental health unit, The Times can reveal. The man, who cannot be named, climbed through the window of a mental health unit at a London hospital, where he has been held since September under mental health laws. He has been on the run since and his family are said to be increasingly concerned for his safety. The British born man of Pakistani origin is one of six British citizens who were placed under such an order in April. He is accused of planning to travel to Iraq to attack British troops there. Initially, as part of the order, he had to report to the police daily and surrender his passport. The Home Office said: "We do not comment on individual control order cases. Any breach would be investigated on a case-by-case basis." The Government introduced control orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 to force a curfew on terror suspects who could not be prosecuted in courts. This could be because the evidence against them has been collected by bugging the suspect - and is therefore inadmissible - or because using it could reveal intelligence sources

[ComputerWorld] Alaska Dems Battle State Over E-voting

Alaska Dems Battle State Over E-voting

Marc Songini

October 16, 2006

Source: Computerworld

An examination of the e-voting database and its audit logs from the November 2004 general election in Alaska found that changes were made to thedatabase in the months after the votes were tallied, according to the state’s Democratic Party.

The party contends that a study of the electronic voting database, which it obtained a copy of last month after a long battle with the state, revealed that the database had been accessed as recently as this July.

 

“The [state's] Division of Elections has not comprehensively explained and corrected the situation,” said Alaska Democratic Party spokeswoman Kay Brown.

The logs were generated by Diebold Election Systems’ AccuVote-OS optical-scan voting systems, which were used statewide in the election.

The party had sought a copy of the AccuVote voting database last December to reconcile apparent discrepancies in voting results compiled by the state after the November election. The Alaska Division of Elections first rejected the request but relented last month.

Democrats had filed a lawsuit in April to force the state to release the documents. That suit remains open in Alaska’s Superior Court.

Meanwhile, the state last week rejected the Democratic Party’s Oct. 5 request for a copy of the database as it stood just after the election in order to determine what manual modifications were later made. The state contended that there is no unchanged version of the database.

Many Manual Votes

Brown said that experts from Black Box Voting, a Renton, Wash.-based nonprofit voter advocacy group commissioned by the party to review the contents of the database, also found an “incredibly high” number of manual votes added to it shortly after the 2004 elections.

According to the Democratic Party, the study by Black Box revealed that 293 votes were entered manually to the database between the election on Nov. 2 and Dec. 2, 2004.

While some manual entries are expected as a result of mismarked ballots, the study’s total was far more than normal, the party contended. “This calls into question the certified numbers,” said Brown.

Annette Kreitzer, chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Loren Leman for the Division of Elections, contended that the Black Box Voting analysis is flawed. Moreover, she said that the number of manual entries was acceptable for a large rural state like Alaska.

“We don’t have anything to hide,” Kreitzer said.

Brown said the study of the database did not resolve what she called huge discrepancies in the vote totals originally tallied just after the election by the elections agency. She said that two separate election reports — overall statewide results and those of individual voting districts — varied by “orders of magnitude.”

 

For example, Brown said a tally of individual district vote counts gave President George W. Bush 292,267 votes. The statewide count, on the other hand, listed 190,889 Bush votes — a difference of 101,378. The statewide total was the official one in Bush’s easy victory in the state.

Brown also said the count showed that 16 districts had a voter turnout of at least 200%.

Kreitzer said the discrepancies were caused by an erroneous counting process used by the state elections program manager. The elections agency contends that the database log proves that the 2004 statewide vote totals are accurate, according to Kreitzer.

She defended the elections agency’s decision to reject early requests by the party for the database. The party’s request first sought the database file structure, which included sensitive information and violated the state’s contract with Diebold, she noted.

The agency declined to release the logs even after Diebold approved the request because it feared such a move might compromise the state’s core IT systems, said Kreitzer.

“The situation in the state does make me worry about the integrity of the system,” said Brown. “I’m a lot more suspicious than I used to be.”

A spokesman for Allen, Texas-based Diebold said the company will do what it can to meet the requests of both the elections agency and Alaska’s Democratic Party.

[New york Times] Police want Israeli President charged with rape

Police want Israeli President charged with rape

Greg Myre in Jerusalem
October 17, 2006

Source: New York Time

THE Israeli President, Moshe Katsav, faces calls for his resignation over a sex scandal, while female politicians have threatened to walk out of parliament if he attends.

Police recommended on Sunday that Mr Katsav face charges of rape and sexual assault allegedly committed against several women in his office. The Attorney-General, Menachem Mazuz, must now decide whether to file charges.

Mr Katsav, who has held the mostly ceremonial post since 2000, denies any wrongdoing. He claims that at least one of his accusers was trying to extort money and that his political enemies were behind the investigation.

After an inquiry that lasted nearly two months, police on Sunday handed their findings to Mr Mazuz. It could be weeks before he announces a decision.

A joint statement by the police and the Justice Ministry said there was evidence that Mr Katsav committed "rape, aggravated sexual assault, indecent acts without permission and offences under the law to prevent sexual harassment".

The police inquiry allegedly also found evidence that the President had committed fraud and was engaged in illegal wiretapping. "As far as we're concerned, we've completed the investigation," a police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said. "There is hard evidence and hard facts in this case."

Mr Katsav's lawyer, Zion Amir, said in a statement that the Attorney-General had dismissed past police findings into similar charges as insufficient.

But the latest police statement is sure to intensify demands for Mr Katsav's resignation. Parliament was due to open its winter session yesterday, an event Mr Katsav normally attends. His brother, Lior, told Israeli radio the President planned to attend but would not address the parliamentarians.

Several female politicians have threatened to walk out of the session if Mr Katsav is present. "The President must resign," the Education Minister, Yuli Tamir, told Israeli television. "If he doesn't do so, I believe a process will be launched to force him to resign."

As president, Mr Katsav is immune from prosecution while in office. But if he resigns or is impeached by parliament, he would have to face any charges against him, according to legal scholars. Mr Katsav's seven-year term ends next year.

Though the case has received widespread coverage any charges against Mr Katsav are unlikely to have broader political ramifications, as the position is mainly symbolic.

However, the controversy surrounding Mr Katsav comes as the public has expressed widespread disappointment in the country's leadership. Many Israelis say the Government and the military mismanaged the recent war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, a target for much of that criticism, also has been under investigation regarding the sale of his Jerusalem home and the purchase of a new one.

Several other politicians are under investigation or have been charged with wrongdoing, including the former justice minister, Haim Ramon, who resigned in August and was subsequently charged with sexual harassment.

[Times Online] Amateur 'video bloggers' under threat from EU broadcast rules

Amateur 'video bloggers' under threat from EU broadcast rules By Adam Sherwin, Media Correspondent Source: Times Online

THE Government is seeking to prevent an EU directive that could extend broadcasting regulations to the internet, hitting popular video-sharing websites such as YouTube. The European Commission proposal would require websites and mobile phone services that feature video images to conform to standards laid down in Brussels. Ministers fear that the directive would hit not only successful sites such as YouTube but also amateur “video bloggers” who post material on their own sites. Personal websites would have to be licensed as a “television-like service”. Viviane Reding, the Media Commissioner, argues that the purpose is simply to set minimum standards on areas such as advertising, hate speech and the protection of children. But Shaun Woodward, the Broadcasting Minister, described the draft proposal as catastrophic. He said: “Supposing you set up a website for your amateur rugby club, uploaded some images and added a link advertising your local sports shop. You would then be a supplier of moving images and need to be licensed and comply with the regulations.” The draft rules, known as the Television Without Frontiers directive, extend the definition of broadcasting to cover services such as video-on-demand or mobile phone clips. Ministers argue that while television programmes should be subject to minimum standards, the content of websites should not be subject to EU regulation. Mr Woodward is proposing a compromise that requires EU states to agree a new definition of what constitutes “television”. He said: “It’s common sense. If it looks like a TV programme and sounds like one then it probably is. A programme transmitted by a broadcaster over the net could be covered by extending existing legislation. But video clips uploaded by someone is not television. YouTube and MySpace should not be regulated.” British criminal law already covers material that might incite hate or cause harm to children, Mr Woodward added. The Government’s definition of online broadcasting covers feature films, sports events, situation comedy, documentary, children’s programmes and original drama. It excludes personal websites and sites where people upload and exchange video images. “The real risk is we drive out the next MySpace because of the cost of complying with unnecessary regulations,” Mr Woodward said. “These businesses can easily operate outside the EU.” Ofcom, the media regulator, is also opposing the proposed directive, which it believes could discourage new multimedia business in Europe. Mr Woodward is seeking EU member state support for the British compromise. So far only Slovakia has pledged support, but Mr Woodward believes that other nations will come onboard before a key EU Council meeting on November 13. The influence of “user-generated” websites was demonstrated last week when Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion (£883 million). Launched in February 2005, it has grown into one of the most popular websites. YouTube has 100 million videos viewed every day. The House of Lords European Union Committee began an inquiry yesterday into the directive, which could also introduce paid-for product placement on UK television for the first time. Lord Woolmer, the committee chairman, said: “The proposals bring within the regulatory framework areas of the media previously untouched by broadcasting legislation. “Britain is at the cutting edge of new media and alternative broadcasters in Europe, and we are keen to ensure that the proposals will not damage this growing industry in seeking to incorporate them into EU regulation.”