A woman who refused to pay her council tax in protest at the condition of her neighbourhood has been jailed. Josephine Rooney, 69, who lives in Hartington Street, Derby, has the £800 to pay, but said the city council has failed to clean up her area.

The council has denied Miss Rooney’s claims, saying measures were already in place to improve her district.

Rooney, who described herself as a “conscientious objector”, was jailed for three months by Derby magistrates. […]

A 69-year-old Derby woman facing jail after refusing to pay her council tax has won a national award for looking after her community.

Josephine Rooney owes Derby City Council nearly £800 and refuses to pay because, in her view, the council has failed in its duty of care to her.

Miss Rooney has now won a Taking a Stand award from the Government’s Respect campaign. […]

“I planned this nearly two years ago when I read about that pensioner down in the West Country, and I wanted to find a way of committing civil disobedience – in the way conscientious objectors do so in South American dictatorships and other parts of the world.

“So, that’s what I really am, a conscientious objector,” she said.

[…]

What a beautiful person. And now she is suffering at the hands of those employed to SERVE her, because THEY have failed in their duties.

If only everyone else on her street had stood with her…

Know what I mean?

Public libraries are on the verge of extinction warn campaigners. How can they be protected for the future?

Be honest – when did you last use your local library? Do you even know where it is?

[…]

We use our library at least weekly. There is no excuse not to, since:

We can rent CDs and DVDs from the library much cheaper than other places.

They may have a poor stock, but one can order ANY BOOK YOU LIKE and it will be brought to your local library. It takes one minute to fill in a form. Same for CDs and DVDs.
We can check stock and renew items online.

They hold a wealth of local information, both historical and about upcoming events.

They give classes in many things for kids and adults. There are kids story-telling sessions too.

They have computers with free internet access.

What more do you want!?!?!???

Knowledge is sustenance, and here is a font to sup at for free. Fill thy cups, my friends!

Died on Monday.

Kingsland Road panorama. Though only a short sample.

Led to this site, a compilation of images of every listed building in England.

11 listed buildings on Fossgate, York. And it’s only about 100m long.

In the morning of 2006-05-31 the Swedish National Criminal Police showed a search warrant to Rix|Port80 personnell. The warrant was valid for all datacentres of Rix|Port80 and was directed at The Pirate Bay. The allegation was breach of copy-right law, alternatively assisting breach of copy-right law.

“The necessity for securing technical evidence for the existance (sic) of a web-service which is fully official, the legality of which has been under public debate for years and whose principals are public persons giving regular press interviews, could not be explained,” said the statement.

“Asked for other reasoning behind the choice to take down a site, without knowing wether (sic) it is illegal or not, the officers explained that this is normal.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5036268.stm

…

Who is behind this? You can bet your last Krona that it isn’t Swedish police or the Swedish government directly. So that leaves external (and most probably) commercial interests directing the activity of a domestic justice system in the complete absence of any legally substantiated wrongdoing.

Sweden, I am ashamed of you.

…

Regarding the internet-savvyness of record labels, this interesting piece from the Grauniad sheds some light.

The US said the deal was essential after the 9/11 attacks

The European Court of Justice has ruled illegal an EU-US agreement that allows European airline passenger data to be transferred to the US authorities.The court said the May 2004 agreement did not ensure privacy protection for European travellers.

European airlines have been obliged to give US authorities passengers’ names, addresses and credit card details.

The measure – opposed by the European Parliament – was designed to help prevent acts of terrorism.[…]

I nearly choked on my cornflakes when I read this. Amazing.

Now watch as Bliar twists and bends OUR law in an attempt to appease his US ringmasters. You know he will do it, and those opposed will be painted as lily-livered liberati collaborators.

Reds under beds are back in fashion.

Yesterday, in a discussion on “Britishness”, I heard a commentator say one of the characteristics she found so adoring about the British is that they are so apathetic that there will never be another civil war.

She will have plenty of time to reconsider her position on the Isle of Wight Gulag, comrades!

Blair and his bitches underestimate the British at their peril.

I am reminded, somehow, of John Selwyn Gummer, forcing his child to eat a beefburger to downplay the threat of BSE.

Let’s see Bliar frog-marching his sons into Basra without the correct equipment if he wants to demonstrate his resolve and conviction that his war is worth the sacrifices.

Goshdarn it, how I got here from there I don’t know. It’s Tuesday but it’s a Monday feel and my brain is confused.

This man:

… is now in charge of UK transport policy. He is “a professional politician, whose rise in Labour ranks has been relentless, from the moment he started to work as a researcher for Gordon Brown in 1990“.

A professional politicain. Uber-Gimp, he will dress in your favoured costume and perform un-nameable feats for your delight as long as it progresses his career.

He has no background in transport, knows nothing of running multi-billion pound turnover enterprises. Yet he now sets UK transport policy.

Uber-Gimp, most importantly, does not have the best interests of the public at heart. For one, he has no heart. And two, he does not believe he serves the public, despite being nominally a public servant. He believes, in fact, that the public are fortunate to have him to run their pathetic little lives for them.

Uber-Gimp believes only he can Make Life Better©.

And his first declaration is: to announce a £10m fund for the development of nationwide road charging schemes.

He hopes new technology will allow drivers to be charged by the mile.

[…]

What new technology, pray tell? Without even unwrapping our crystal ball we see through the swirling mists to a near-future Utopia, where your car is registered via the DVLA to your NIR entry.

In this heavenly, terror-free, fraudless hinterland every journey you make will be logged as your number plate is scanned at every junction.

Imagine the freedom that comes with such luxury! Imagine, some other upwardly-mobile Gimp sat at a console somewhere diligently refusing road access to all the undesirables. Imagine…

Addendum:

“A professional politician is a professionally dishonourable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker.”

Uber-Gimp.

H L Mencken said it better.

In 2002, Gary McKinnon was arrested by the UK’s national high-tech crime unit, after being accused of hacking into Nasa and the US military computer networks.

He says he spent two years looking for photographic evidence of alien spacecraft and advanced power technology.

America now wants to put him on trial, and if tried there he could face 60 years behind bars. […]

Profile – Gary McKinnon
“I found out that the US military use Windows,” said Mr McKinnon […]

The defence rests, m’lud!

See also: Hacker fears ‘UFO cover-up’ … with video interview from today.

Someone clever once said “That’s the way to do it!”

US counts cost of day without immigrants

· Protests force firms to close and hit industry
· More than 1 million take to streets over new bill

A sea of white-shirted protesters 300,000 strong, chanting “Si, se puede” (“Yes, it can be done”) surged through Los Angeles.
US immigrants stage boycott day 

Mass rallies were staged across the US as immigrants boycotted work or school and avoided spending money as a way of showing their worth to the economy.

Despite Monday being a normal working day in the US, many businesses were forced to close as workers in industries including agriculture, construction and leisure withheld their labour.

Goya Foods halted distribution for the day, while Tyson Foods, the world’s largest meat producer, shut nine of its 15 plants.

[…]

Of course, if they really want to make a difference, they could always try a petition.

Bloggers and the press

Charles Clarke pleads for understanding

[…] I believe that a pernicious and even dangerous poison is now slipping into at least some parts of this media view of the world. In the absence of many of the genuinely dangerous and evil totalitarian dictatorships to fight – since they’ve gone – the media has steadily rhetorically transferred to some of the existing democracies, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom, some of the characteristics of those dictatorships.

…

As these descriptions and language are used, the truth just flies out of the window…

One recent example of this was the articles of Henry Porter which have stimulated the e-mail exchange between him and Tony Blair in yesterday’s ‘Observer’.

Another is Simon Carr’s article in the ‘Independent’ on April 15th which lists 34 ‘measures and effects’ which in his opinion mean that in this country we no longer live in a liberal and democratic society. Many of these assertions are frequently accepted as fact by media commentators. I have replied to him pointing to his numerous and unprofessional misleading statements as well as the many errors of fact. A copy of my reply is on the Home Office website. […]

In the reply, you will note that, of the 34 statements, Mr Clarke states that 17 are TRUE or CORRECT. Only 6 are “wrong”. The remainder are subjective judgements and interpretations.

Some things from the last week or two…

At Easter we watched Jesus Christ Superstar. What a joy! I’m not into musicals, but if you can’t enjoy the Pharisees and Herod, then there’s something wrong. And Judas is truly great. 70s kitch at it’s theatrical finest.
Have been enjoying the almost warm weather… sitting on our roof at night in the stillness really soothes those rough edges. Leaning back and watching the bats fly past and the moon waning…
Tried to have Mojitos this weekend, but forgot to buy limes. Bugger.

This Saturday, York Minster did a full bell peal. This is…

Minster Bells to Celebrate Queen’s 80th Birthday

To celebrate Her Majesty’s 80th Birthday the bells of York Minster will be rung to a full peal of Grandsire Cinques, which will take more than four hours to complete successfully. The peal will be rung on Saturday 22nd April starting at 9.30am.

The ringing of full peals on the Minster bells is comparatively rare and is reserved for special occasions. Full peals were rung to celebrate Her Majesty’s 60th birthday in 1986, and her Golden Jubilee in 2002.

For the ringers a peal involves intense physical and mental effort. Every bell is swung round in a full circle every two seconds, and all twelve bells ring in a different place in each row. Concentration is intense, with the ringers working out the mathematical permutations to ensure that every one of the 5,080 changes is different. The ringing of a full peal of any bells is tiring, and the Minster’s bells are some of the heaviest in the country.

The Minster’s bells are arguably the most magnificent ever cast, and bell ringers from all over the country are eager to ring a full peal on them. For this full peal attempt, the Minster team will be joined by ringers from St Paul’s Cathedral, Liverpool Cathedral, Leeds Parish Church and Towcester Parish Church.

The English art of Change Ringing is a unique way of ringing church bells. It is a special part of our heritage, and the peal at the Minster will be a fitting tribute from the City of York to help celebrate this very special birthday.

It was quite something, hearing it going on all around town for so long.

Went to the fabulous vegetarian restaurant, Vanilla Black again. They changed their lunch menu and I was STUFFED afterwards. Eyes bigger than belly. Before lunch, anyway.
From today… why you should make your own food whenever possible (part 94):

Now take a look at the ingredients you might find in a fast-food strawberry milkshake: milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar, sweet whey, high-fructose corn syrup, guar gum, monoglycerides and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium phosphate, carrageenan, citric acid, E129 and artificial strawberry flavour.

And what does that “artificial strawberry flavour” contain?

Just these few yummy chemicals: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphrenyl- 2-butanone (10% solution in alcohol), ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, undecalactone, vanillin and solvent.

But you know this!

Oh, and I just wanted to add my amazement at Tony Bliar, with his lawyer wife, multiple  properties, six-figure income and side benefits (“Mr Blair registered his wife’s activities in July “to err on the side of caution” and to be “open and transparent”.  Mr Blair listed two flats in Bristol and a house in London from which “rental income is received”. He also declared a free 26-day stay at singer Sir Cliff Richard’s Barbados villa”[…])… stating his wonder that so many Lords and MPs, and others, are out of touch with the public at large! Laugh of the day!

I wonder if maybe Gordon Brown has his music pumping out banging techno at all hours, and a crack den in the cellar, which has given TB this taste of the plebian lifestyle.

After reading/writing posts on Blogdial about the linking of ID card uptake to passport applications as part of the government’s ‘volutary’ introduction of the NIR, http://irdial.com/blogdial/?p=108 and following, the following thoughts sprang immediately to mind:If I refuse an ID card, I will be unable to get a passport.

If I cannot get a passport, I am for all intents and purposes interned in my own country.

My government cannot deny my travel and/or entry and exit to my own country.

Therefore it follows: passports must not be required for a British citizen to transit UK borders.

Could this last part be true? I had no idea.

So I wrote to Charles Clarke (clarkec@parliament.uk). I have yet to receive a response.

I wrote to the Home Office general enquiries address. I have yet to receive a response.

I wrote to my MP, Hugh Bayley, who is one of the least rebellious members of the Labour party and has consistently voted in favour of the introduction of ID cards.

He is a typical, spineless, mindless, gimp of a career politician.

I wrote to him and he failed to answer my questions. I am a constituent of his. He works for me. I remind him of this fact. It is something to remember. They work for you.

I wrote to the UK Passport Service and asked them what exactly are “the legal requirements for a UK citizen entering and leaving the UK of their own free will.”

They replied:

A person who is a British citizen is not subject to immigration control and is free to enter or leave the United Kingdom without restriction. A British citizen who travels on a passport issued by another country will need to apply for a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode to be endorsed in his passport to confirm he has unrestricted entry to this country.

I was stunned! What did this mean? As a lay reader I immediately thought, there is NO requirement for a passport! I can come and go as I please!

And if I decide to use a second passport, perhaps Irish, or Canadian, or one obtained as outlined at sites such as http://www.escapeartist.com/passports/passports.htm all I need is a stamp showing I have the Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode. Then I’d be free from having to ever enter the NIR. Right?

Well, obviously I can’t be right. There must be some legal requirements stipulated? Some guidelines as to how I prove I am a British citizen? And the CoERA… will application for this stamp be subject to NIR enrolement?

First, on the requirements, all I can find is actually on the CoERA page…

2. THE RIGHT OF ABODE 2.1 If you have the right of abode in the United Kingdom, this means that you are entirely free from United Kingdom immigration control. You do not need to obtain the permission of an immigration officer to enter the United Kingdom, and you may live and work here without restriction. 2.2 However, you must prove your claim by production of either: a) a passport describing you as a British citizen or as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies having the right of abode in the United Kingdom; or b) a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode in the United Kingdom issued by or on behalf of the Government of the United Kingdom.

So a UK passport may be required, although the expiry date remains in question: why should a passport allow free travel one day, and not the next, due to an arbitrary 10-year limit? Is even an expired passport proof of British citizenship?

Are other documents also valid? A birth certificate, for example, which is required in order to get a passport! It seems that I would have to wade through: “The law covering the right of abode in the United Kingdom is contained in the Immigration Act 1971, the British Nationality Act 1981 and the regulations made under them.” in order to find the details. But I would like it stated in clear, factual, lay terms by the UKPS or the Home Office, if possible. As for the CoERA stamp, the application at present seems to be postal only. No interview, no data-rape.

To summarise the current situation: I remain confused as to the exact requirements outlined in my communication with UKPS and on their webiste. I have therefore asked for clarification on exactly what this (a British citizen is not subject to immigration control and is free to enter or leave the United Kingdom without restriction) means in practical and legal terms.

The answers to these questions must be found. If you can help, get in touch. If you know the current legal status, get in touch. If you want to prevent the government from closing every loophole and interning British citizens for want of a ‘voluntary’ NIR entry, help us to know the facts as they stand, so that we may exploit this loophole and disempower the NIR.

Are you inspired yet?

Chirac backs down on employment law

Staff and agencies
Monday April 10, 2006

The French government today bowed to weeks of protests and said it would replace a controversial employment law which made it easier to fire workers aged under 26.

Stunned by the biggest street demonstrations in almost 40 years, the office of the president, Jacques Chirac, said a new plan focusing on youths from troubled backgrounds would replace the “first job contract”.

“The president of the republic has decided to replace article 8 of the equal opportunities law with measures to help disadvantaged young people find work,” said a statement from the presidency.

[…]

And, of course, I know you haven’t forgotten this…

A few people deciding enough is enough, refusing to put up with an unfair law and doing something about it.

And the governments changed the laws. 

Reading an article by the Grauniad’s Art Critic, he states that his daughter’s name is Primavera.

In light of the recent trend for naming children such things as Chanel, Chardonnay… even, in the US at least “Chanel (269 girls), Timberland (six boys), Porsche (24 girls) and Armani (273 boys and 298 girls).

Parents named their children after everything from bottled water (Evian) and soft drinks (Fanta) to Western hats and cologne (Stetson), wine (Chardonnay) and beer (Guinness)”
… even with these bizarre choices, Primavera struck me as the most pretentious of the lot. I imagine Mr Jones sneering at the hordes of Chardonnays in Essex from his oh-so-chi-chi Islington terrace, while smug over his choice of pasta dish (or season – take your pick).

Maybe it’s just me.

In the future, perhaps all children will be named after a favourite vegetable. I know in many cultures names have specific meaning – Aslan is Turkish for lion, for example – but Primavera Jones…

I’ll get my coat.

This morning, I am listening to music on vinyl. Currently John Parish, How Animals Move. There has been Art Tatum, The Bible and others.

Some records seem to accumulate dust and fluff more than others. Kate Bush’s Ariel is one I have recently noticed gets particularly fluffy towards the end of each side.

Anyway, I just had a wonder… if I had kept all the fluff I have ever had to remove from my needles through the years, would I have enough for a pillow? A duvet? Or maybe just enough for a stuffed toy in the shape of a 7″ record?

Would the pillow be comfortable? Would I be able to sleep for all the musical memories stored so close to my ears?

Pan, tilt, zoom

Each day, as you go about your life, it’s likely you’ll make a guest appearance on at least 300 different CCTV screens. Britain now has more security cameras than any other country, yet their impact on crime rates is negligible, while our fear of crime is still rising.

[…]  ‘This is one of the reasons CCTV grew so strongly here as against in other European countries,’ says Norris. ‘It was centrally funded.’ The other reason was a complete lack of regulation. In places like Germany or Scandinavia a right to privacy is written into the constitution. Here, the only legislation that affected CCTV was a relaxation of the planning laws. […]

The operation has led to 100 arrests

The use of metal detectors to catch people carrying knives is to be extended by British Transport Police across the UK, the BBC has learned.Operation Shield was launched in London two months ago to target those carrying knives on the Tube network and trains.

Police with stop-and-search powers and sniffer dogs use mobile airport-style scanners to check passengers.

Since it began, almost 10,000 people have been scanned, 100 have been arrested and 68 knives seized.

The initiative is already up and running in Liverpool. It is due to start in Birmingham this month and in north-east England in May, and will eventually be used UK-wide.

[…]

You must take notice.

Unless you are locked in your own home, with the curtains drawn, expect no privacy.

Unless you subjugate yourself to any minion in a uniform, to any mechanical invasion, expect no freedom.

Unless you fight against this evil, expect no sympathy.

The truth seeps through grasping fingers across forked-tongued mouths… and dribbles away, unseen by the many, reviled by the few…

Ministers also announced that the new agency will operate a passport verification service so that businesses can guard against identity fraud by checking the credentials of their customers against the biometric database. The Home Office claims this could be worth £325m in benefits to business.

And the benefits to individuals…. ?
There you go. You will be asked for your ID card by anyone who wishes to ask. And you will be denied service if you refuse to comply.

This was tagged on the end of a piece in the Grauniad noting that the Safety Elephant will charge you the full price of an ID card plus passport, even if you ‘opt out’ of having the physical card itself. This is to make having the card seem like a bargain, obviously!

One notable thing is that the Guardian (not alone, but…), while obviously opposed to ID cards, appears to be doing nothing to spell out their danger. They pick up on minor quibbles, like cost, and ignore major stuff like unfettered database access to anyone who will pay! Government charging people for data-rape, and then selling access to the data!! Ignored!!!

Why am I surprised? I’m not. Just very disappointed.

So instead, be inspired. Remember the wise people who came before us and Got Things Done. Remember those who despised the way things were, the way they were going, and got up and changed them themselves.

Today, I remember Margaret Mead.

Remeber what she knew to be truth:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.