This story was on 5 Live yesterday evening. According to the media, Poole Borough Council used "laws to track criminals and terrorists" (the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act) to determine whether they were lying about living in a school catchment area.
So what powers were these? Phone tapping? CCTV cameras pointed at the house 24/7? SWAT teams on standby?
No. They sent a man to check if the family left the house they claimed they lived at each morning and returned there in the afternoon. The BBC did their best to sensationalise this as "spying" - despite listeners texting in telling them to stop trying to 'sex up' their stories. Others went one better, using attention grabbing headlines claiming that 'spies stalked' the family. If this is spying, the government have been 'spying'...
It seems to be a constant theme that when people are surveyed about the news they complain there's not enough positive news reported, so here goes.
Belfast is one of the top 10 safest cities in the United Kingdom (also in the Tele) in which to live according to a survey from Endsleigh insurance. It landed in at number 7th safest for household accident claims and 10th safest from claims arising from theft.
That list in full (courtesy of the Daily Record):
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O'Connell Street, Dublin's main (and most dangerous) street, was the scene for a vicious attack on St Patrick's night. A 17-year old English lad was confronted by a group of youths at 8pm who asked him where he was from and then attacked him when they didn't like the answer. The victim, a pianist, lost a finger in the attack which police were unable to recover.
After almost 90 years of independence most folk in the Republic seem to have dropped the old grudges. Some, it seems, still can't get over the xenophobic hatred. So just what is it that fosters this naked hatred in a country that is developed, prosperous, and supposedly self-confident?
Is the desire to "reclaim" that fourth green field so strong that it warrants an attack on a kid enjoying St Patrick's day, just because he's a...
The traditional view of Americans participation in the "Peace Process" here is generally seen as "cynical playing to the green Irish vote" by taking the side of nationalists and/or republicans. This was particularly true under the Clinton years.
With the new presidency race I think the best some of us were hoping for was that any new administration would have more important things to worry about than the rather tedious affairs of Northern Ireland, yet still its hard to shake the feeling that the votes of 36 million "Irish Americans" may prove too tempting to ignore.
That's why I was so surprised to read today that President Bush's special envoy to Ireland, Mitchell Reiss, has criticised Tony Blair for giving too much to Sinn Fein/the IRA, who he said became used to the government...
It really is time to put a stop to the nonsense going on at the Bill of Rights Forum. This bunch of professional do-gooders, whose job seems to be to advise those who will advise the govermnent on a Bill of Rights, seem to want to allow anyone under the age of 18 to escape prosecution when they commit a crime.
I'm sure you're all familiar with stories about violent and disruptive yongsters who proudly proclaim "I know my rights" when teachers attempt to discipline them. They must be having a good laugh at this. This is not what a Bill of Rights is supposed to be about!
There is an age under which children aren't held criminally responsible for their actions because they aren't mature enough to understand right and wrong. At the moment, that age is set as 10. The UN Committee on the...
There's nothing like seeing a criminal, particularly a violent one, get their comeuppance. Those last couple of pictures are doozies.
What can I say? It seemed relevant.
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The Saville Inquiry was established in 1998 to re-examine the events of 30th January 1972, AKA "Bloody Sunday". We knew then that soldiers shot dead 14 people in the Bogside in Londonderry's. 10 years and £181 million later and that's still about all we know and Secretary of State Shaun Woodward said he still doesn't think we're going to see the report any time soon.
From the beginning I've been of the opinion that this enquiry is a waste of money given that people have already made up their minds on what happened. If it's proved that the army were in the wrong, it will be seen in some quarters as a sop to Sinn Fein. If it's proved that the army were in the right, Sinn Fein will argue that there's been a cover up (as was claimed of the original tribunal). Whatever happens, the only...
http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/2008/02/20/10_years_and_p181_millionThe Saville Inquiry was established in 1998 to re-examine the events of 30th January 1972, AKA "Bloody Sunday". We knew then that soldiers shot dead 14 people in the Bogside in Londonderry's. 10 years and £181 million later and that's still about all we know and Secretary of State Shaun Woodward said he still doesn't think we're going to see the report any time soon.
From the beginning I've been of the opinion that this enquiry is a waste of money given that people have already made up their minds on what happened. If it's proved that the army were in the wrong, it will be seen in some quarters as a sop to Sinn Fein. If it's proved that the army were in the right, Sinn Fein will argue that there's...
The Patten Commission was not a pleasant experience for Unionists. The abandonment of the historic name and symbols of the RUC GC was needless, insensitive, and damaging to Unionist confidence in the political process of the time. While this was not the only negative experience to come out of Patten, what we can say is a great many of the recommendations (PDF) in the report were good ones that have improved the already high standard of policing in Northern Ireland. One of these proposals, detailed at pages 62 and 63 of the Patten report, was the civilianisation of many tasks that were being undertaken by fully trained Police Officers. Police Officers are expensive to train and retain, this training is extensive and produces an excellent public servant for the betterment of the...
http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/2008/02/06/loyalists_supply_republican_gunsI'm loathed to reference a story from the Irish News when it's not clear for how long it will remain freely available online, but this one's quite revealing. I earlier mentioned that the cowards of the Real IRA shot two off-duty police officers last November. While looking for a story to link to on that topic I came across a more recent one which claims that the guns used in those attacks came from "loyalist" drug-dealers linked to the Shoukri brothers (formerly of the UDA).
An unlikely partnership between the paramilitary groups dates back to 2003 when loyalists transported a massive haul of weapons for the Real IRA using routes used to bring drugs into the north.
It is understood the haul...
http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/2008/01/10/fundamental_failure_understand_unionistsActually, Brian Feeney's fundamental failure might be understanding anything, but I was feeling charitable when I wrote that title. The Irish News is generally the best of a bad bunch when it comes to local news papers, which makes the fact that they give regular space to an idiot like Feeney all the more puzzling. I guess it must be a marketing decision; there are enough people out there who enjoy nothing more than reading material that reinforces their own prejudices, even if it is rubbish.
Over at 3,000 Versts Chekov does a wonderful job of tearing apart Feeney's latest diatribe against unionists, which comes disguised as a rant about Human Rights (nice to see the Irish News finally...
http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/2008/01/04/who_will_police_the_police_policeSlugger today highlighted a story from Friday when it was reported that a Resident Magistrate delivered a damning verdict on an investigation by the Police Ombudsman's office bringing into question the integrity of the body in charge of investigating complaints against the police.
The Ombudsman's office was set up following the Good Friday Agreement to oversee the work of the police and ensure that any complaints about the police would be investigated through an "independent, impartial police complaints system". The prosecution persecution of Constable Keith McCabe, described by a magistrate as a "witch-hunt", made a mockery of that whole idea.
Following a GAA match in Enniskillen, a GAA fan...
http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/2007/12/20/local_man_fears_for_family_after_threatsI was really saddened to find out that the owner of a carwash/valet service near Stormont had his business attacked, with racist/xenophobic slogans smeared on the tarmac outside, warning he had 3 days to "get out".
I've a message for whoever did this. Fuck you!
Arthur Cufaj is a British citizen who has lived in Belfast for 12 years and has built himself a business to support his wife and 2 young daughters (2-year old Sinead and baby Jennifer). As a business owner he'll be contributing to society through his taxes. What the fuck are you contributing? Are his taxes paying for your dole per-chance? Here's a newsflash for you - most of us would much rather live beside Arthur and his family...
Last night in the markets area in Belfast a group of "about 20" protestors (I presume that's including the kids) disrupted a DPP meeting in south Belfast designed to give people there a voice and a chance to raise issues with and ask qustions of the police.
They reportedly shouted profanities, "jostled" councillors and decried nationalist politicians for administering a "British police force" administering "imperial rule in Ireland".
Meanwhile, two nights previously, 82-year-old pensioner Jack Cassidy was attacked and robbed in his house just off the Andersonstown Road in west Belfast. A gang of four youths forced their way in to his house on Saint Agnes Drive while he was watching the Northern Ireland football team's victory over Denmark. They "manhandled" the pensioner and urinated in...
12 months ago NCP (a private company) took over responsibility for parking enforcement from the PSNI. In the PSNI's last 12 months in charge they handed out 61,488 parking tickets compared to 163,500 tickets handed out in Northern Ireland by NCP in their first year.
As a driver, I may be expected to complain about this (don't get me started on Arlene Foster's nannying), but in fact I welcome it. In fact I suspect it's nowhere near enough, with many drivers abusing double-yellow lines because apparently the rules don't apply to them.
Is it a coincidence that many of these drivers happen to drive big fuck-off monster trucks? You know who you are - the parents who pick their kids up from Methodist College on the Lisburn Road (or any number of schools across the country) who insist on...
A woman who uses a mobility scooter to get around informed a meeting last night that two secondary school pupils had lit a banger and thrown it at the basket of her scooter as she was driving it through the park, with the aim of having it explode in the basket: inches away from her.
This really makes me sick, but what's the answer? The police can't be everywhere at once and I'm not convinced the City Council's campaign to take back the parks will be successful.
I have a better idea though: people power. Whenever a couple of pathetic little kids are getting their kicks from terrorising a defenceless lady people should not be penalised (if anything they should be rewarded) if they walk up and punch the little bastards in the face.
Even if it doesn't teach them anything at least...
http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/everythingulster/2007/04/01/soldiers_leaving_crossmaglen_holding_heaIt was funny to watch republicans reach near orgasm over the withdrawal of the army from Crossmaglen following a job well done. Yesterday the last soldiers left the village Possibly the most amusing thing was the placard carried by some of the terrorist supporting rabble. "Intimidation, torture, murder" in capital letters adorned the middle. Ironically, that's exactly why the army came in - to put an end to the IRA's campaign of, you guessed it, intimidation, torture and murder.
Now seems an appropriate time to thank all the soldiers who served here over the decades of the troubles, doing a difficult and often thankless job in even more difficult circumstances. I'm not...
http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/everythingulster/2007/02/27/reinforcing_the_language_barrier_that_seGovernment research on the mainland is indicating that providing public services in foreign languages for non-English speakers is not only costing upwards of £100m a year (including £55m in the NHS), but isolating communities from each other. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein and their new MOPE poster-girl "Maire Nic An Bhaird" are continuing their efforts to create language barriers where none presently exist.
Remember, these millions are being spent on translating for people who can't speak English; by pushing for the new Irish Language Act to be rights-based one, republicans are demanding that the government spend proportionally similar sums translations for people who...
I was out taking pictures of the bands today, planning on writing a little piece about the twelfth, since last year's got so many hits. Unfortunately, I came home to hear some disgusting and sickening acts had taken place last night in County Antrim.
At a bonfire in Ahoghill, near Ballymena, the tricolour atop the bonfire was decorated with writing mocking the sectarian murder of Michael McIlveen in Ballymena in May. The flag was adorned with the slogan "Fuck Mickybo". It's pathetic and disgusting. No normal person could take any satisfaction from that. I don't have so much of a problem with trying to burn posters of hunger strikers, these guys were paramilitaries after all, but to mock the death of an innocent teenager (who would sooner consider joining the British army than the...
Having purchased Faith And Duty from a Belfast bookshop some time back, I broguht it to Botanic Gardens with me last time I ventured out to enjoy the sunshine here (about a month ago then) but didn't open it. Today when I returned to Botanic it was still in the bag and I decided now was as good a time as any to start into it.
I'm now through the prologue and into chapter 3. Faith and Duty recounts the experience of one Nick Curtis MM, who arrived in Northern Ireland at the beginning of the troubles as a corporal in the army.
So far it's been a very interesting read, and I've been gripped to Curtis's recounting of those early days when he arrived in Belfast sympathetic to the plight of the Catholics who, as far as he could tell, only wanted civil rights. He also explains the thoughts...
It's stories like this one that make me wonder who would object to having CCTV cameras in their local area. Anything that drives the message home to thugs like the three lads in this story who will be taking an extended holiday at Her Majesty's pleasure.
If appearing on camera when I go to pick up a carton of milk is the price to pay for safe streets, I think it's a bargain....