Monday, 29 August 2011
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Notting Hill carnival curfew plan is 'pie in the sky' warn police on ground
As record numbers of officers are deployed on Sunday to police the Notting Hill Carnival, there is confusion over how a proposed "curfew" is to be enforced, with rank-and-file officers saying they have not received adequate instruction on how to clear the streets following the event's early closure.
In the wake of the London riots, carnival organisers are to proceed on the condition that the parade of floats will finish by 6.30pm, and the static sound systems will be turned off by 7pm – hours earlier than usual – to minimise the potential for disorder after dark.
However Metropolitan Police Federation vice-chairman John Tully said that hopes of clearing Notting Hill's streets so early were "pie in the sky" and could create potential flashpoints.
"We need direction – we being the rank-and-file officers that I represent – about when we are given an instruction from senior officers to clear the street what they actually mean by that?" he said. "We have no definition. If we go in heavy handed and a few people get cuts and bruises or injured, then my members are up in court on an assault charge. When we are told to clear the streets, we should get the backing of not just our managers but the politicians as well.
"I don't think it's achievable because of the volume of people who are going to be there and who don't want to go home. If they want to carry on, there is the potential for problems."
Tully also voiced wider concerns among colleagues that police officers were increasingly seen as a legitimate target by those who felt abandoned by the state: "Just look at Edmonton [north London] two nights ago when a police van was petrol bombed for no reason. That's an indication of how tense the streets of London are. In the current climate, there is obviously a worry that there could be a potential flashpoint."
He cited a meeting in Tottenham last week, where the first of the UK riots began following the shooting of Mark Duggan, in which there was a sense of fury among locals who had turned up.
"There was an atmosphere of absolute hatred towards the police and the establishment – the government – because they feel abandoned, the cuts in youth services, the cuts right across the board."
Commander Steve Rodhouse, the Met's spokesman for the carnival, said he remained confident that the early closing time of 7pm would prove effective and diminish the potential for trouble: "Carnival ends at 7pm and that is certainly our intention.
'We would hope that, combined with licensed premises closing at least between 7pm and 9pm, will be helpful in terms of encouraging people to leave the area and return it to normal for residents and businesses."
Organisers believe the latest festival will not only be safe but as memorable as the event the year after the 1976 riots at the carnival, which left 100 police injured and saw scores arrested.
Ancil Barclay, Notting Hill Carnival director, said: "People have said to me that the best carnival they can remember was the year after the Notting Hill riots and we are hoping that this will be the same. We need to demonstrate to the world that we can deliver. People are looking forward to making this a successful carnival."
Barclay said that crime at the carnival was decreasing: "Met commanders have said that you're likely to be safer in the carnival than in the West End on a Friday night." He added that local residents were acting as the "eyes and ears" of the community to help identify any potential troublemakers.
So far, more than 2,000 people have been arrested in connection with this month's riots, while another 40 have been detained following pre-emptive raids under Operation Razorback designed to prevent troublemakers attending the carnival.
However, last week Scotland Yard said up to 30,000 people were suspected to have been involved in the arson, looting and violence during the riots.
About 16,000 officers will be on hand in the capital during the duration of the carnival. Up to a million people are expected to attend on both days, the majority on Monday, with the weather forecast predicting sunny intervals.
'Preparing the show brings us all together'
Rosalind Thomas, 39The costume-maker from Paddington has helped with the carnival outfits. This year the colour scheme is red.
"I've been coming to the pre-carnival preparations since I was a baby. Sometimes there is so much to organise for a mas band that people sleep beside their costumes because of all the things that need to be completed. Preparing the show brings the whole community together; we have all generations from children to grandparents and teenagers – our junior king is 17 and junior queen is 16 – under one roof. It's an important time for us, celebrating all the Caribbean islands, all the community, everyone."
Nolan Simmons, 68
A carnival "king", for the last month he has travelled from south London to Notting Hill to help make his costume, a 20ft devil. He has been king of Elimu Paddington Arts Mas band for 30 years.
"We build the costumes from scratch, it takes time. This year I have my leg, so I'm a little worried. We'll have to see how I get on. I also have to dance with the costume on, but this year is a big carnival – the dry run for the 2012 Olympics. "A lot of things have changed since I've been doing this. We used to have police assigned to the band. They would have a great time – maybe, it was felt, too much of a good time. We also used to be able to go wherever we wanted, but now it is much more regulated."
Angela Badal, 40
The primary school teacher from Peckham works as a volunteer in the headquarters of the carnival organisers. She dedicates the bulk of the school holidays to helping organise the carnival.
"I love carnival. I have been coming since I was two or three. My parents are from Trinidad and I used to make costumes for the fancy dress shows at school and would win every year, then I would wear them at the carnival. Because of what has been going on, I really believe it is going to be very safe because of the number of stewards and police. It is a chance for everybody in London to show that we can come together, enjoy ourselves and be peaceful."
Mark Townsend @'The Guardian'
ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald
US Govt: we're trying to kill Awlaki, but we won't release information about him because that would invade his privacy: is.gd/TzY48g
Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google, condemns British education system
The chairman of Google has delivered a devastating critique of the UK's education system and said the country had failed to capitalise on its record of innovation in science and engineering.
Delivering the annual MacTaggart lecture in Edinburgh, Eric Schmidt criticised "a drift to the humanities" and attacked the emergence of two educational camps, each of which "denigrate the other. To use what I'm told is the local vernacular, you're either a luvvy or a boffin," he said.
Schmidt also hit out at Lord Sugar, the Labour peer and star of the hit BBC programme The Apprentice, who recently claimed on the show that "engineers are no good at business".
Schmidt told the MediaGuardian Edinburgh international TV festival: "Over the past century, the UK has stopped nurturing its polymaths. You need to bring art and science back together."
The technology veteran, who joined Google a decade ago to help founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin build the company, said Britain should look to the "glory days" of the Victorian era for reminders of how the two disciplines can work together.
"It was a time when the same people wrote poetry and built bridges," he said. "Lewis Carroll didn't just write one of the classic fairytales of all time. He was also a mathematics tutor at Oxford. James Clerk Maxwell was described by Einstein as among the best physicists since Newton – but was also a published poet."
Schmidt's comments echoed sentiments expressed by Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, who revealed this week that he was stepping down. "The Macintosh turned out so well because the people working on it were musicians, artists, poets and historians – who also happened to be excellent computer scientists," Jobs once told the New York Times.
Schmidt paid tribute to Britain's record of innovation, saying the UK had "invented computers in both concept and practice" before highlighting that the world's first office computer "was built in 1951 by the Lyons chain of teashops".
However, he said the UK had failed to build industry-leading positions or successfully transfer ideas from the drawing board to the boardroom.
"The UK is the home of so many media-related inventions. You invented photography. You invented TV," he said. "Yet today, none of the world's leading exponents in these fields are from the UK." He added: "Thank you for your innovation, thank you for your brilliant ideas. You're not taking advantage of them on a global scale."
He said British startups tended to sell out to overseas companies once they had reached a certain size, and that this trend needed to be reversed. "The UK does a great job of backing small firms and cottage industries, but there's little point getting a thousand seeds to sprout if they are then left to wither or transplanted overseas. UK businesses need championing to help them grow into global powerhouses, without having to sell out to foreign-owned companies. If you don't address this, then the UK will continue to be where inventions are born, but not bred for long-term success."
Schmidt said the country that invented the computer was "throwing away your great computer heritage" by failing to teach programming in schools. "I was flabbergasted to learn that today computer science isn't even taught as standard in UK schools," he said. "Your IT curriculum focuses on teaching how to use software, but gives no insight into how it's made."
Barack Obama announced in June that the US would train an extra 10,000 engineers a year. "I hope that others will follow suit – the world needs more engineers. I saw the other day that on The Apprentice Alan Sugar said engineers are no good at business," he said.
"If the UK's creative businesses want to thrive in the digital future, you need people who understand all facets of it integrated from the very beginning. Take a lead from the Victorians and ignore Lord Sugar: bring engineers into your company at all levels, including the top."
Schmidt also announced that Google TV, which allows users to search the internet on their TV sets, would be launched in Europe early next year, with the UK "among the top priorities". The product is already available in America, although sales have been disappointing.
Schmidt said Google TV did not threaten broadcasters and would enable them to experiment with new formats online. He defended the company's contribution to the TV industry, pointing out that it had invested billions of dollars in IT infrastructure that media companies use.
Google also announced it would fund a new course in online production and distribution at the National Film & Television School in London for three years.
James Robinson @'The Guardian'
Delivering the annual MacTaggart lecture in Edinburgh, Eric Schmidt criticised "a drift to the humanities" and attacked the emergence of two educational camps, each of which "denigrate the other. To use what I'm told is the local vernacular, you're either a luvvy or a boffin," he said.
Schmidt also hit out at Lord Sugar, the Labour peer and star of the hit BBC programme The Apprentice, who recently claimed on the show that "engineers are no good at business".
Schmidt told the MediaGuardian Edinburgh international TV festival: "Over the past century, the UK has stopped nurturing its polymaths. You need to bring art and science back together."
The technology veteran, who joined Google a decade ago to help founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin build the company, said Britain should look to the "glory days" of the Victorian era for reminders of how the two disciplines can work together.
"It was a time when the same people wrote poetry and built bridges," he said. "Lewis Carroll didn't just write one of the classic fairytales of all time. He was also a mathematics tutor at Oxford. James Clerk Maxwell was described by Einstein as among the best physicists since Newton – but was also a published poet."
Schmidt's comments echoed sentiments expressed by Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, who revealed this week that he was stepping down. "The Macintosh turned out so well because the people working on it were musicians, artists, poets and historians – who also happened to be excellent computer scientists," Jobs once told the New York Times.
Schmidt paid tribute to Britain's record of innovation, saying the UK had "invented computers in both concept and practice" before highlighting that the world's first office computer "was built in 1951 by the Lyons chain of teashops".
However, he said the UK had failed to build industry-leading positions or successfully transfer ideas from the drawing board to the boardroom.
"The UK is the home of so many media-related inventions. You invented photography. You invented TV," he said. "Yet today, none of the world's leading exponents in these fields are from the UK." He added: "Thank you for your innovation, thank you for your brilliant ideas. You're not taking advantage of them on a global scale."
He said British startups tended to sell out to overseas companies once they had reached a certain size, and that this trend needed to be reversed. "The UK does a great job of backing small firms and cottage industries, but there's little point getting a thousand seeds to sprout if they are then left to wither or transplanted overseas. UK businesses need championing to help them grow into global powerhouses, without having to sell out to foreign-owned companies. If you don't address this, then the UK will continue to be where inventions are born, but not bred for long-term success."
Schmidt said the country that invented the computer was "throwing away your great computer heritage" by failing to teach programming in schools. "I was flabbergasted to learn that today computer science isn't even taught as standard in UK schools," he said. "Your IT curriculum focuses on teaching how to use software, but gives no insight into how it's made."
Barack Obama announced in June that the US would train an extra 10,000 engineers a year. "I hope that others will follow suit – the world needs more engineers. I saw the other day that on The Apprentice Alan Sugar said engineers are no good at business," he said.
"If the UK's creative businesses want to thrive in the digital future, you need people who understand all facets of it integrated from the very beginning. Take a lead from the Victorians and ignore Lord Sugar: bring engineers into your company at all levels, including the top."
Schmidt also announced that Google TV, which allows users to search the internet on their TV sets, would be launched in Europe early next year, with the UK "among the top priorities". The product is already available in America, although sales have been disappointing.
Schmidt said Google TV did not threaten broadcasters and would enable them to experiment with new formats online. He defended the company's contribution to the TV industry, pointing out that it had invested billions of dollars in IT infrastructure that media companies use.
Google also announced it would fund a new course in online production and distribution at the National Film & Television School in London for three years.
James Robinson @'The Guardian'
UK abortion rules to be tightened in biggest shake-up for a generation
Pro-life campaigners suggest the change could result in up to 60,000 fewer abortions each year in Britain. Last year, 202,400 were carried out.
The plan would introduce a mandatory obligation on abortion clinics to offer women access to independent counselling, to be run on separate premises by a group which does not itself carry out abortions.
Critics of abortion clinics claim that the counselling they offer is biased because they are run as businesses — a claim denied by the clinics.
But abortion charities said they feared the proposals would prolong the period before an abortion took place, and that the motive was simply to reduce the number of terminations and was not in the best interests of women.
The proposed change comes ahead of a Commons vote, due to take place next week, on amendments to a public health Bill put forward by Nadine Dorries, a backbench Conservative MP.
The amendments would prevent private organisations which carry out terminations — such as Marie Stopes and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) — from offering pre-abortion counselling. Women would instead be offered free access to independent counsellors.
The vote would be the first on the laws around abortion since the Coalition took power. A previous attempt to change the law — to reduce the time limit for abortions from 24 to 20 weeks — was defeated in a free vote in 2008. Ministers appear keen to avoid another such vote. They believe that announcing the consultation on independent counselling will prevent it going ahead.
The plan does not mean pre-abortion counselling will be mandatory — something which is vehemently opposed by pro-choice groups and which has been a flashpoint in parts of the United States.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: “We are currently developing proposals to introduce independent counselling for women seeking abortion. These proposals are focused on improving women’s health and wellbeing. Final decisions on who should provide this counselling have not yet been made.”
Proposals under discussion would involve withdrawing payments made by the taxpayer to abortion clinics for counselling women.
Mrs Dorries, a former nurse, claims abortion providers are not independent because they have a vested interest in conducting abortions. Last year, Marie Stopes and Bpas carried out about 100,000 terminations and were paid about £60 million to do so, mostly through the NHS.
Mrs Dorries said she had hoped that her proposed amendments to the health Bill would prompt the Government into taking the kind of action which it has now done.
Frank Field, a Labour MP, said: “I’m anxious that taxpayers’ money is used so that people can have a choice — we are paying for independent counselling and that’s what should be provided.”
Ann Furedi, the chief executive of Bpas, said if her organisation was prevented from advising women about terminations it could be impossible to gain informed consent, as the independent counselling was not compulsory.
Robert Mendick @'The Telegraph'
The amendments would prevent private organisations which carry out terminations — such as Marie Stopes and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) — from offering pre-abortion counselling. Women would instead be offered free access to independent counsellors.
The vote would be the first on the laws around abortion since the Coalition took power. A previous attempt to change the law — to reduce the time limit for abortions from 24 to 20 weeks — was defeated in a free vote in 2008. Ministers appear keen to avoid another such vote. They believe that announcing the consultation on independent counselling will prevent it going ahead.
The plan does not mean pre-abortion counselling will be mandatory — something which is vehemently opposed by pro-choice groups and which has been a flashpoint in parts of the United States.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: “We are currently developing proposals to introduce independent counselling for women seeking abortion. These proposals are focused on improving women’s health and wellbeing. Final decisions on who should provide this counselling have not yet been made.”
Proposals under discussion would involve withdrawing payments made by the taxpayer to abortion clinics for counselling women.
Mrs Dorries, a former nurse, claims abortion providers are not independent because they have a vested interest in conducting abortions. Last year, Marie Stopes and Bpas carried out about 100,000 terminations and were paid about £60 million to do so, mostly through the NHS.
Mrs Dorries said she had hoped that her proposed amendments to the health Bill would prompt the Government into taking the kind of action which it has now done.
Frank Field, a Labour MP, said: “I’m anxious that taxpayers’ money is used so that people can have a choice — we are paying for independent counselling and that’s what should be provided.”
Ann Furedi, the chief executive of Bpas, said if her organisation was prevented from advising women about terminations it could be impossible to gain informed consent, as the independent counselling was not compulsory.
Robert Mendick @'The Telegraph'
Michele Bachmann Would Consider Lowering Minimum Wage To Match The Cost Of Labor Overseas
The Associated Press is reporting that Republican Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is considering lowering the minimum wage to match labor costs overseas to lure corporations back to the United States.
Her comments came in response to the question of a reporter, during a campaign stop in Florida, who asked whether changes to the minimum wage should also be considered to balance the cost of labor here and overseas. “I’m not married to anything. I’m not saying that’s where I’m going to go,” Bachmann replied. She did say she wants to look at all aspects of doing business, from regulations to tax codes, and will consider anything that will help create jobs.
Lowering the minimum wage is not a viable option to stimulate the economy. People are struggling to live on $7.25 an hour as it is. Wages overseas are far lower than they are here. So low in fact that poverty is a way of life. Before Democrats passed the minimum wage law during the Great Depression, workers struggled to make a living while corporate CEO’s made millions. And when the Great Depression hit the country, millions of American workers ended up with nothing. Corporations don’t care how low wages are. Prices will not come down to accommodate lower wages. The only thing that lowering the minimum wage will do here in America is stimulate poverty.
Stephen D. Foster Jr. @'Addicting Info'
Her comments came in response to the question of a reporter, during a campaign stop in Florida, who asked whether changes to the minimum wage should also be considered to balance the cost of labor here and overseas. “I’m not married to anything. I’m not saying that’s where I’m going to go,” Bachmann replied. She did say she wants to look at all aspects of doing business, from regulations to tax codes, and will consider anything that will help create jobs.
Lowering the minimum wage is not a viable option to stimulate the economy. People are struggling to live on $7.25 an hour as it is. Wages overseas are far lower than they are here. So low in fact that poverty is a way of life. Before Democrats passed the minimum wage law during the Great Depression, workers struggled to make a living while corporate CEO’s made millions. And when the Great Depression hit the country, millions of American workers ended up with nothing. Corporations don’t care how low wages are. Prices will not come down to accommodate lower wages. The only thing that lowering the minimum wage will do here in America is stimulate poverty.
Stephen D. Foster Jr. @'Addicting Info'
Grand Central Station
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Adrianchen Adrian Chen
"Have you seen 'The Road'?" Mayor Bloomberg said at a press conference. "Things will probably be like that for a while."
Jay-Z's Hegemony in the Age of Kanye
Watch the Throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West may not prove to be the enduring hip hop classic that many people expected when news of the project leaked. But the album itself is hardly the point. Watch the Throne represents a fascinating gambit in the consolidation and extension of Jay-Z's hegemony over the hip hop world, and in Kanye's rehabilitation of his image following a catastrophic collapse in his global standing. How they did it offers important lessons for how the United States can handle its own changing position within a turbulent world."I seen people abuse power, use power, misuse and then lose power/Power to the people at last, it’s a new hour/Now we all ain’t gon’ be American Idols/But you can least grab a camera, shoot a viral/Huh? Take the power in your own hands."
--- Kanye West, evaluating (presumably) the Egyptian revolution in the Power remix
Two years ago, I wrote a series of essays using Jay-Z as a window into international relations theory. They ended up provoking an astonishing outpour of debate, dissent, and commentary across the blogosphere. I recorded what remains to this day my all-time favorite radio appearance. And it landed me in an unforgettable, if short-lived, rap beef with Game himself. My basic argument was that Jay-Z handled his hegemonic position by exercising restraint, declining to engage in most provocations in order to avoid being trapped in endless, pointless battles. Jay-Z battling the Game would have risked being dragged down into combatting an endless and costly insurgency with little real upside. Better for the hegemon to show restraint, be self-confident, and to carefully nurture a resilient alliance structure to underpin leadership.
Blueprint 3, released shortly afterwards, largely vindicated that analysis. The opening track pointedly dismissed his beefs ("I ain't talking about gossip, ain't talking about Game") in favor of addressing "real" issues ("let's talk about the future, we've just seen the dream as predicted by Martin Luther, you could choose ta sit in front of your computer posing with guns, shooting YouTube up, or you could come with me to the White House"). "Run This Town" asked everyone to "pledge allegiance" to his label Roc Nation. "Already Home," breezily dismissed all of his would-be challengers as not in his league and "only excited when they mentioning Shawn" and taking them to task for not carrying their share of the burden ("I taught 'em about fish scale they want me to fish for them/They want me to catch clean, then cook up a dish for them"). D.O.A. did take the rising generation to task for singing too much with Autotune and generally being soft, and took a few shots at competing power centers ("send this one to the mixtape Weezy"). But overall, the album was a self-confident, knowing blueprint for hegemonic restraint...
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Marc Lynch @'FP'
ioerror Jacob Appelbaum
If you ever wondered about the British surveillance state this is a cable worth reading about London's CCTV: wikileaks.org/cable/2007/10/…
Dub FX Short Documentary
DUB FX is a worldwide street performer and studio recording artist from St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia. His trademark is creating rich live music using only his voice aided by Live looping and effect pedals. Dub’s music really gained momentum when Bristol film maker BD filmed “Love Someone” on the street and posted it on his Youtube account. 9 million views later Dub has travelled to all far reaches off the globe to perform with his fiancée Flower Fairy.
Dub has several releases out, “Live in the Street” a collection of street performances from his travels busking through Europe in his Van, A remastered double album “Everythinks A Ripple / RMX” which combines his first studio album repackaged with a Remix album showcasing various producers. Dub is also heavily into production and teamed up with long time friend SIRIUS to release “A Crossworlds” a very mature Dubstep Album & Flower Fairy’s album “Nursery Gryme”.
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Dub has several releases out, “Live in the Street” a collection of street performances from his travels busking through Europe in his Van, A remastered double album “Everythinks A Ripple / RMX” which combines his first studio album repackaged with a Remix album showcasing various producers. Dub is also heavily into production and teamed up with long time friend SIRIUS to release “A Crossworlds” a very mature Dubstep Album & Flower Fairy’s album “Nursery Gryme”.
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