tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189708612011-12-07T19:53:37.235ZThe ramblings of a London law student on the "war on terrorism".London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.comBlogger1251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1144423432771411352006-04-07T16:18:00.000+01:002006-04-07T16:25:11.083+01:00

I remember posting about being terrorised in Heathrow the last time I was here. No terror this time. A frisking at security alright, but that's about it. Anyway, in other news Reuters tells me Dan Brown won his High Court case. He was being sued for breach of copyright by the authors of the 1980's book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail. The Reuters story is here. The decision isn't exactly surprising

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1144055319663965772006-04-03T10:08:00.000+01:002006-04-03T10:08:39.716+01:00

I enjoyed reading two columns these past two days: Henry Porter in The Observer and Gary Younge in this morning's The Guardian. It made me wonder what makes a good newspaper column.Over the past two years I've grown progressively sick of reading bad columnists: I entirely gave up on the Sunday Times after the news review left me cold and I found myself barely skimming the rest of the paper,

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1143803956749968722006-03-31T12:19:00.000+01:002006-03-31T12:19:16.810+01:00

Wow, over a month since I last posted. Anyway, I'm merely cross-posting a comment I made over at MM about the Rahman case. Fi pointed out that he may not fulfill the strict Convention requirements and I tend to agree.The spirit of the Convention is that displaced persons will be granted asylum until the international community can resolve the strife in the refugee's own country. The refugee can

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1140792746382980292006-02-24T14:52:00.000Z2006-02-24T14:52:26.406Z

A comment I made over at M.M. has caused a bit of backlash, so I want to explain what I mean. The comment was "I just found Helen Duffy's The 'War on Terror' and the Framework of International Law on a shelf next to Primo Levi's The Drowned and the Saved. The resonance between the photo of Guantanamo Bay on the cover of one, and Auschwitz on the other has turned me right off my lunch."That

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1140606828327558662006-02-22T11:13:00.000Z2006-02-22T11:13:48.596Z

Greetings to anyone dropping by...As you may have noticed, things have been rather dead here the last fortnight. Mea culpa. Things in the real world have been pretty hectic: dissertations, research proposals, essays due, papers to write, and a visiting sister have all eaten up all time available. Boo hiss.Anywho, what news? Well the Irish Blog Awards shortlist is here, and well done to those on

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1139568510803568742006-02-10T10:48:00.000Z2006-02-10T10:48:30.803Z

Fiona's quasi-meme has taken the Irish blogosphere by storm. I haven't done it yet, but I have a suggestion for those who have: Link it in your sidebar so you and others can find the post.Otherwise it'll be impossible for the DL boys (whose own answers I was somewhat surprised at) to coallate (sp?) the information, and the purpose will be lost.While I recognise that some are worried about being

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1139568050147006442006-02-10T10:40:00.000Z2006-02-10T10:40:52.583Z

Dossing Times (who, incidentally, I must link) have found the counter-cartoons - released by Arab media outlets in response to the Danish ones.They depict, among other things, Hitler and Anne Frank in bed, Jewish investigators at a Concentration Camp, and a conversation between Spielberg and Jackson that implies the Holocaust was a fiction.They don't offend me, but neither did the Danish ones,

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1139400119244599522006-02-08T12:01:00.000Z2006-02-08T12:01:59.266Z

I was at a talk last night in the LSE given by Lord Woolf, Former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and replied to by Nicola Lacey of the LSE, and Michael Smyth of Clifford Chance. The topic was "Democracy and the Rule of Law". There were some interesting points made....*Lord Woolf intoned that it was "no longer wrong to say that judges from time to time make law" - a statement that will

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1139302786331265962006-02-07T08:59:00.000Z2006-02-07T09:03:11.700Z

The cartoons remain unprinted in the U.K., a decision I still support. However, I do think that the U.K. public need to know what the fuss is about.To that end, the below link brings one to an article which displays the cartoons at the end. If one is likely to be offended, then please do not click on the link. Publication of this link is not intended to cause offence, or an endorsement of the

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1139301627694601422006-02-07T08:40:00.000Z2006-02-07T08:52:35.956Z

I heard on Ireland's Today FM news this morning that a leading newspaper in Iran is holding a competition for the best cartoon about the Holocaust.Nice to see everyone's doing their best to diffuse the situation then.Update: The Guardian has a piece on the holocaust cartoon competition here.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1139218450263538112006-02-06T09:34:00.000Z2006-02-06T09:34:56.553Z

The G carries the story of David Cameron's calls for reform of the monarchy. Alas, he is not a closet republican, however, the reforms he suggests are all eminently agreeable. He wishes to strip the monarchy of these powers, and transfer them to Parliament:· declare war and send troops abroad;· to make international and European treaties;· to make appointments and award honours;· to make major

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1139217556214269162006-02-06T09:19:00.000Z2006-02-06T09:19:16.216Z

This debate, and the riots, have been raging on over the weekend. There's great coverage of it all over the blogosphere, so I've no intention of posting a lengthy rant here. That said, I suppose I should formulate an opinion in the interests of enfranchised and informed citizenship.Having heard on BBC Five Live that the publication of an image of Muhammad would, in itself, be blasphemous, and

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1139216998925495442006-02-06T09:09:00.000Z2006-02-06T09:09:59.056Z

The Irish Blog Awards voting is now open. Please check out some of the linked sites on the right -> and if you like what you see, vote for them. A number of those I've linked are up for awards.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138877636727979502006-02-02T10:53:00.000Z2006-02-02T10:53:56.776Z

It's been very quiet here the past few days: I've been finishing a paper that's driving me mental. It'll be handed in tomorrow, then blogorama for the weekend methinks.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138717329959870282006-01-31T14:22:00.000Z2006-01-31T14:22:09.973Z

Here, comments later.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138716102425542832006-01-31T14:01:00.000Z2006-01-31T14:01:42.486Z

Fi and DL have been musing as to the causal link between racism and slavery.I'm taking a course this term, Racism, Ethnicity, Crime and Criminal Justice, wherein we've been discussing the origins of racism, what race is, what ethnicity is, and so on. I noticed in a footnote to the introduction to a textbook on the matter, that same question was posed.Certainly, I get the impression that to

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138616380415359822006-01-30T10:19:00.000Z2006-01-30T10:19:42.356Z

I don't like Mondays. So, thanks to my addiction to Sportdaq and my general aversion to blogging at the weekends, it's been rather quiet here the past few days. It hasn't, however, been quiet elsewhere. The debate about the definition of a family in Ireland has been raging. I made a rather minor contribution on the topic here, but since then Fiona and Richard have been going at it like

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138464890885197682006-01-28T16:14:00.000Z2006-01-28T16:14:51.260Z

Sportdaq is an online, free, fun, sports stock exchange. I've gotten somewhat addicted, hence the light few days on the bloggin front.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138294725647718652006-01-26T16:58:00.000Z2006-01-26T16:59:12.136Z

Wow! That's going to have the bloggers going mental for weeks. More later.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138293821167993592006-01-26T16:43:00.000Z2006-01-26T16:43:41.186Z

My little rant on the opposition to recognition of same-sex unions seems to have attracted a little attention - from U.C.D., King's Inns (I suspect that baby barrister is either from Tarbert or is short and hairy), and the Government Intranet. Hi Bertie.Meanwhile, while chasing commentators, I found this open letter that is most agreeable.While I haven't been able to read anything all day (as I

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138260797912129312006-01-26T07:33:00.000Z2006-01-26T07:33:18.016Z

Another crazy day begins:The Palestinian election votes are being counted. Polls suggest that Fatah will take a narrow victory over Hamas. Great news for Hamas in their first election. Iffy news for the peace process.Galloway has been evicted from the Big Brother house. His publicist was on the radio last night claiming the stunt was a success, and telling us to 'watch this space'. She seems

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138225027070546312006-01-25T21:37:00.000Z2006-01-25T21:37:11.453Z

I watched the Six One news online tonight and was struck by a number of things...1. The Gardai are to be given the power to randomly stop drivers for breathalizers. FG and Labour reaction: to ask if it will actually be implemented: since when have the Opposition been reduced to a cheerleading group? Did no one think of Constitutional or Human Rights questions?2. Similarly going without comment is

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138200849338368472006-01-25T14:54:00.000Z2006-01-25T14:54:09.340Z

The 10th Oireachtas All-Party Report on the Family was published yesterday. Naturally, certain members of the Irish bloggosphere are very unhappy with it (Fi, and friends), and rightly so.What I don't get is the really crap logic of those opposed to legal recognition of same-sex unions.1. Right Nation define marraige as between a man and a woman, and thus argue that same sex marraige is

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138197558457139782006-01-25T13:59:00.000Z2006-01-25T14:01:03.110Z

Pope Benedict has penned his first encyclical, entitled Deus Caritas Est - 'God Is Love'.I haven't had a chance to read it in its entirety yet - ye olde Pope isn't economical with his words - but the general gist is thus (ha! a general gist of theology...):Physical love between a man and a woman (no hope that he'd recognise any other physical relationship) has become debased and commodified. Eros

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138178410103623952006-01-25T08:40:00.000Z2006-01-25T08:40:10.176Z

Today'sGuardian has an essay-writing competition about Britishness. See the print edition for details.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138112643888148532006-01-24T14:24:00.000Z2006-01-24T14:26:17.713Z

In the midst of her post-Pakistan blog-fest, Fiona has tagged me....Four jobs you've had in your life:Computer RepairsmanOffice LackeyResearch InternPublicistFour movies you could watch over and over:The Shawshank RedemptionLord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the RingWonder BoysDie HardFour places you've lived:CorkDublinLondon(I lack a fourth)Four TV shows you love to watch:Friends (Still do)

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1138013900714213412006-01-23T10:58:00.000Z2006-01-23T10:58:20.740Z

I read a great piece in the Observer over the weekend. It may be found here.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137833768484981522006-01-21T08:56:00.000Z2006-01-23T09:11:59.053Z

Togue argues:I don't think that a devolved English parliament would require a massive constitutional shake-up.The UK parliament would still legislate for the same UK-wide legislation as it does now, it would just have English legislation removed from it, just as Scottish legislation was removed from it.UK departments like Health, Education, Culture and Sport and Transport, would just become

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137795992206500942006-01-20T22:22:00.000Z2006-01-20T22:26:32.216Z

OK, so thoughts are still percolating with regard to a federal Britain (I'm currently wondering about the issue of competences, Kompetenz-Kompetenz, policing the boundaries of competences, parliamentary sovereignty, the courts, the monarchy, and written or unwritten constitutions.In the interim, the Lords have attacked the Terrorism Bill for its anti-free speech provisions and voted it down.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137759137776600202006-01-20T12:09:00.000Z2006-01-20T12:12:17.786Z

How workable is full devolution and the creation of a de jure federal Britain? Is it possible to manage it without a written constitution?Does the political (or public) will exist?How soon could it be achieved?I shall think, read and later this evening, write....

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137751924686274912006-01-20T10:05:00.000Z2006-01-20T10:12:04.686Z

Here's an archive of all of the posts I've had so far on this (most recent first):Devolution & EnglandBrown's AgendaLondoner-nessIn Search of BritishnessIdentity, Britain, IrelandNI-Magyar, Self IdentityBritishnessThe English?

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137750973883037832006-01-20T09:56:00.000Z2006-01-20T09:56:13.910Z

On my English Nationalism post, Anonymous said:A lot of the things we now call "British" started out as "English" I s'pose... personally I couldn't give a stuff about nationalism for its own sake - where ever it may be, but England certainly needs a fair deal from devolution.This coincides with something I was thinking about last night -The CEP Case for an English Parliament.1. I've been asking

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137689046424452422006-01-19T16:40:00.000Z2006-01-20T21:48:12.320Z

Liam Aylward, Brian Crowley, Sean Ó Neachtain, Eoin Ryan (FF), Prionsias De Rossa (Lab), Simon Coveney, Avril Doyle, Jim Higgins, Mairead McGuinness (FG) and Marian Harkin (Ind).....for voting in favour of today's European Parliament resolution against Homophobia.Quizzical looks at Mary Lou McDonald (SF) and Gay Mitchell (FG) for their absence!Boo Hiss to Kathy Sinnott (Ind) for voting in

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137678786849679672006-01-19T13:53:00.000Z2006-01-19T13:53:27.436Z

I've just been added to the UK PoliBlogs database (here). I've been categorised as an English Blog *sniff*. Ah well , I'll have to cope.FYI, it was ridockulously fast in comparison to IrishBlogs. It only took PoliBlogs an hour as opposed to two months.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137672870070223882006-01-19T12:14:00.000Z2006-01-19T12:15:17.470Z

The Green Ribbon (whom I must link) notes that Brown's Britishness may be Hey-I'm-More-Than-A-Scot-ness.I.E. Down with the calls for an English Parliament, Union all the way.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137667425104768502006-01-19T10:37:00.000Z2006-01-19T10:44:39.750Z

OK, so I realise I'm flogging the British-ness question waaayyy past the point of death. But hey, it's my blog and I'll flog if I want to.So, a question: which is stronger: British-ness or Londoner-ness? In my opinion, the latter:I think this campaign, put in place after the July 7th bombings, hits on something that actually exists: a sense of commonality in London. I've only been here since

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137664227637267342006-01-19T09:50:00.000Z2006-01-19T10:16:44.180Z

After blogging about this here and here (note in particular the debate in the comments), Timothy Garton Ash rows in today with stab at Brown here.He notes that the Union Jack is "intimately linked with monarchy, military, empire, whiteness, and prejudice against continental Europe", continuing "the union jack has generally come to be understood in Britain as the opposite of anything to do with

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137579269915569472006-01-18T10:10:00.000Z2006-01-18T10:14:29.926Z

As the Guardian notes this morning (here), Hazel Blears, Britain's minister for counter-terrorism, says she 'struggled' with the Terrorism Bill's provision to allow detention of suspects for up to 90 days.Oh well, that's very reassuring. All those persons who would have been detained for up to three months on a suspicion would at least have known that the Government was uneasy about it. What

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137540262032417982006-01-17T23:24:00.000Z2006-01-17T23:24:22.033Z

Given her legal expertise on sexual offences, I look forward to Fiona's take on this when she gets back.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137448462183684622006-01-16T21:53:00.000Z2006-01-16T21:54:22.183Z

Fair play to RTE - The Six One News, Questions & Answers, and Prime Time are all available streaming from www.rte.ie. That's great for those of us who can't pick up RTE on our non-existent, and out-of-state televisions!

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137448250415617542006-01-16T21:50:00.000Z2006-01-16T21:54:59.666Z

The Lords have found a means to delay the progress of the National ID Card scheme.They recognise that due to the Salisbury Convention they cannot strike down the Bill, nonetheless, by requiring further information on the cost of the scheme to be published, they've delayed it at least. Huzzah!

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137442272830434142006-01-16T19:51:00.000Z2006-01-16T20:18:10.376Z

My post here has prompted a little debate on the whole issue of identity in Britain and Ireland.My own post had three points/questions/aspects to it:1. I want to know what is British-ness, and how is it distinct from Englishness and UK-ish-ness?2. I want to make the point that 'nationality', rather than 'citizenship' is self-defined, yet the latter, citizenship, affects how we express nationality

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137402315204130132006-01-16T09:05:00.000Z2006-01-16T09:05:15.223Z

I've just heard onBBC Radio Five Live that Ministers are introducing plans to remove the need to go to court when offenders admit to criminal damage, shoplifting and petty thieving.So Blair, as he hinted in his Labour Convention speech last year, is going after the heart of the criminal justice system: the right to a day in court.When I have more details I'll rant about the rule of law - soon

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137352829785238312006-01-15T19:20:00.000Z2006-01-15T19:20:29.800Z

Jack Straw sometimes says strange things.Mr Straw: "We do more than any other non-Muslim country, indeed much more than actually many Muslim countries, to provide assistance for our Muslim community on their Hajj.Ho. Hum. What's a non-Muslim country? One that doesn't have a majority of Muslims?

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137266412932174222006-01-14T19:20:00.000Z2006-01-14T19:20:13.000Z

I was just reading The this post from NI Magyar, and I realise that I've made an error in my below post, British-ness. What I was referring to, of course, was UK-ness.So here's the question: You're an average Londoner. Your identity structure is probably Londoner-English-British-UK. What's the difference between the last two of those? Being British and being a member of the UK. What is it that

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137249571196208222006-01-14T14:38:00.000Z2006-01-14T14:39:32.783Z

Guido Fawkes added to the sidebar. It's superb.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137240264787709252006-01-14T12:04:00.000Z2006-01-14T12:04:26.130Z

londondenizen@gmail.com

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137239015855416102006-01-14T11:43:00.000Z2006-01-14T11:43:35.866Z

After I asked some questions of English nationalism the other day, Gordon Brown has come out to call for a special day to celebrate Britishness.It's an interesting proposition, though I have serious doubts that it will work to reclaim the Union Jack from the far right. After all, the U.J. is flown regularly on the parade from Trafalgar Sq. to Buckingham Palace (often with other 'well-loved'

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137146015428910012006-01-13T09:53:00.000Z2006-01-13T09:53:35.430Z

The Hamza Trial jury yesterday spent some popcorn time with Hamza's video collection.In it he attacks "enemies of Islam", and goes on a general tirade against the West. The prosecution case continues today.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137144934367641502006-01-13T09:35:00.000Z2006-01-13T09:49:33.363Z

The Home Office is offering failed asylum seekers £3,000 (£2,000 cash + £1,000 benefits - for education, training, etc) to voluntarily repatriate to their country of origin. When I originally noticed this story this morning the failed was overlooked (Thus making my original response much more vitriolic).People who present themselves as asylum seekers under the Convention relating to the Status of

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137110402159104492006-01-13T00:00:00.000Z2006-01-13T00:00:02.160Z

I've updated the sidebar to include two more blogs I regularly read: Slugger and DL.I know there was some debate on blogrolling recently. My personal take is that I don't necessarily agree with everything written on blogs I link to, but I believe they generally represent good constructive opinion - valuable additions to the public domain. That's why I'm so slow to actually update the bloody

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137109370451420832006-01-12T23:42:00.000Z2006-01-12T23:45:47.870Z

The Green Ribbon, a blog whose blogroll I appear to merit inclusion in, has a story of a new publication by the UCL constitution on what is being termed "The English Question"?That question, which I've been interested in for a while, and was hoping to write about, goes thus: Scotland now has its Parliament, the Welsh have their Assembly, and the north of Ireland has its Assembly (when it's in

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137102854502617442006-01-12T21:54:00.000Z2006-01-12T21:54:14.536Z

I've spent the day reading about the theories of policing models. Which makes A Non Mouse's Blog great relief. I'm stealing an entire post here, but go look at the blog itself..." We really shouldn't be doing this, but...Further to the previous post, heres another list of things that police do when they really shouldn't...We should... carefully crime and complete about 5 pages of paperwork on

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1137015104072145432006-01-11T21:31:00.000Z2006-01-11T21:31:44.113Z

I've been reading here and watching on the news the story of the ongoing trial of Muslim cleric Abu Hamza.Hamza is the former Iman of the Finsbury Park Mosque (infamous now for alleged extremist preachings). He is being prosecuted under the Terrorism Act 2000. He's said some terrible things, and advocated (by means of video recordings) some atrocious acts: recommending the targeting of Big Ben,

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1136975164373695032006-01-11T10:26:00.000Z2006-01-11T10:27:14.823Z

Fiona mentioned this article on Muslims in Europe and the threat they pose to the United States. She hasn't hade up her mind on it yet, but I have (made up mine that is, trying to make her mind up for her would be a dangerous undertaking). While I was going to give it a good fisking, it's too early in the morning. So just a point or two then....1. Living in 'Londonistan', and having seen much of

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1136923837876925122006-01-10T20:10:00.000Z2006-01-10T20:10:37.930Z

Do Irish bloggers have a predisposition towards trying to find catchy titles for their blog posts? On the Mary O'Rourke scandal, Trixibel has Oh Mary, Why can't you have some sense?, and FdeL has Mary, Mary Quite Contrary as a sing-song in her post.Is it the colourful language of Mary O'Rourke that has prompted this? Is it a sudden desire to be creative? Or is it an attempt to catch music fans

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1136886543876542832006-01-10T09:49:00.000Z2006-01-10T09:49:03.876Z

Wahey, I've been accepted by Irish Blogs. It only took about two and a half months, fair play to them.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1136886074831397872006-01-10T09:41:00.000Z2006-01-10T09:45:15.780Z

I've just done my first early morning dash into college for the New Year, and it was bloody hard. How the hell did I do this every day without fail last term? Ugh, it's going to take some getting used to all over again. Anyway, seems like not much changes. The G is still on the rendition flights case.Blair has said "It's like all the stuff about camps in Europe. I don't know. I have never heard

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1136740269380031562006-01-08T17:11:00.000Z2006-01-08T17:11:09.403Z

Happy New Year all, what passes for normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1135473054296034892005-12-25T01:10:00.000Z2005-12-25T01:10:56.326Z

...to one and all!

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1135381255246029682005-12-23T23:40:00.000Z2005-12-23T23:40:55.296Z

After a week of madness at home, I've finally found the time to pay a trip to the blogosphere. I note Objective Justice has thrown a link my way. I haven't had time to read the blog yet, but there's a lot on it. Naturally, in the festive season, being jolly and all, it's harder to find the vitriol to fuel rants...

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1134836546109638442005-12-17T16:22:00.000Z2005-12-17T16:22:30.523Z

...by Aer Lingus staff, not anyone else. So here I am, fine and early for my flight as I was accompanying a fellow traveller to an earlier flight, and trying to check in my bag. Attempt 1: Denied. Too early. Also looks like bag is twelve kilos overweight, and Ms Aer Lingus will want £4 per kilo when eventually I am allowed to check in my bag. Solution: Remove stuff. However, Ms Smarty-Pants is

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1134729672883469442005-12-16T10:41:00.000Z2005-12-16T10:41:12.896Z

The NY Times has a lengthy story on the White House's backdown from opposing McCain's anti-torture Bill to opposing it. It's certainly an embarrassing about face for Bush, as both Houses, which have Republican majorities, backed the Bill. Will it result in an actual reform of practice, or merely a two-faced approach to what they say and what they do? Will they try and dodge it using Guantanamo,

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1134469442484357972005-12-13T10:24:00.000Z2005-12-13T10:24:02.560Z

This story in today's Guardian raised a question I've been thinking about for some time. I've ranted many times about the role of leaders to calm (rather than heighten) the fears of their citizens. The Met. Police Chief gave a presentation to the Police Authority which was described as 'chilling'. Britain is at a higher state of alert now than it has ever been. Certainly there may be more

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1134123956113017862005-12-09T10:16:00.000Z2005-12-09T10:26:38.203Z

Further quotes from the judgment...Lord Nicholls"Torture is not acceptable. This is a bedrock moral principle in this country."No arguments with that - it's straighforward and to the point.Lord Hoffman"The use of torture is dishonourable. It corrupts and degrades the state which uses it and the legal system which accepts it ... the rejection of torture ... has a special iconic importance as the

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1134122916401206432005-12-09T10:08:00.000Z2005-12-09T10:11:44.230Z

Fi has already had a chat about the House of Lord's recent torture judgment. Further, the Guardian naturally has its own piece.The Guardian extracts a quote from Lord Bingham: "The issue is one of constitutional principle, whether evidence obtained by torturing another human being may lawfully be admitted against a party to proceedings in a British court, irrespective of where, or by whom, or on

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1134036588606845972005-12-08T10:09:00.000Z2005-12-08T10:09:51.750Z

Ever since Hain's proposals to redraw the local authority lines in the north, repartition seems to be the word on everybody's lips. What utter nonsense, as is pointed out here. Furthermore, as I read Hain's proposals, they were a negotiating ploy: he said in an interview (I can't find a link) 'If the Unionists don't like it, they better sort out getting a government up and running pretty quickly

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1134035939315821462005-12-08T09:58:00.000Z2005-12-08T09:58:59.320Z

Of the four blogs I've linked, two have ceased operations, and Fiona's been very busy so has been Meandering less. Is my link a kiss of death?

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1134035184338970922005-12-08T09:46:00.000Z2005-12-08T09:46:24.376Z

Right, I haven't had much time on my hands these past few weeks, but a quick rant on the CIA malarky. In the past few days we've seen Blair face questions in the Commons about it, the Oireachtas Committee request the presence of the U.S. Ambassador to explain the use of Shannon, Condi Rice spend much time nattering on in legalese about how we're all really singing from the same Human Rights

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1133767877743090282005-12-05T07:31:00.000Z2005-12-05T07:31:25.586Z

The Guardian today has a piece on Condi Rice's trip to Europe to shame our Governments into shutting up about the CIA prisons. "Far from apologising or admitting error, the US secretary of state is expected to privately tell Europe's leaders not to make a fuss about CIA activities which, she will argue, form a key part of the post-9/11 "war on terror" to which they all signed up. Administration

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1133254407338144432005-11-29T08:53:00.000Z2005-11-29T08:54:22.896Z

The Guardian has a comment today by Conor Gearty that is wonderfully succinct and to the point. I reproduce it in full below if the above link is a click too far for you. The piece, naturally, is (c) The Guardian/ Conor A. Gearty. (Crucially, not me!)Like this? Read: Gearty & Ewing The Struggle for Civil Liberties."It's 1867 all over again The 90-day detention clause in the new terrorism bill was

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1133174128635832852005-11-28T10:35:00.000Z2005-11-28T10:35:29.383Z

Righty so, back to that piece from the New York times. Alberto R. Gonzales, United State Attorney General, in announcing that Jose Padilla would be transferred to the federal justice system from military prison, said the Bush Government "take each individual, each case, case by case". That's fair, isn't it? Taking each case on its merits? Well, no unfortunately. Taking each case on its merits

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1133130357606002692005-11-27T22:25:00.000Z2005-11-27T22:26:01.546Z

The NY Times has a good piece on the US Government's rules in detaining or prosecuting 'enemy combatants'. I'll post some comment on it in the morning, it's too late at night now!

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1133103046325362372005-11-27T14:50:00.000Z2005-11-27T22:27:06.056Z

There's an interview here on the CIA's prisons in Europe.Hat tip to Where's me Country.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1133002190933531522005-11-26T10:49:00.000Z2005-11-26T10:49:50.966Z

George Best

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132849725533178382005-11-24T16:28:00.000Z2005-11-24T16:28:45.563Z

Reuters report that the EU Commission are to quiz the CIA on the torture flights. Hurrah!

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132827109758707222005-11-24T10:11:00.000Z2005-11-24T10:12:12.953Z

...to cure your riot ailments."Greetings sir, do you have a rioting problem with your ethnic minorities? Would you like to make things even worse? Oh good sir, I believe I have just the thing for you. How about installing CCTV cameras in mosques? That should rightly piss them off. Don't think they'll buy it sir? Oh don't worry, just say it's to stop terrorism, you can do what you like then!"

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132826109482747542005-11-24T09:55:00.000Z2005-11-24T09:55:09.483Z

More on the CIA torture flights (including a pretty map) over at Where's Me Country.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132825402229223872005-11-24T09:43:00.000Z2005-11-24T09:52:55.833Z

The BBC covers the Amnesty Bill's passage through the Commons. Peter Hain has commented that it "is a very difficult piece of legislation for the House of Commons to swallow".Hard to swallow, but necessary medicine. I mentioned yesterday that I was in support of the principles of the Bill, as a means of furthering the normalisation of Irish society.The Provisional IRA have disarmed, to the

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132750892943231692005-11-23T12:47:00.000Z2005-11-23T13:01:32.950Z

I found this discussion interesting, so I just wanted to blog a few lines.The question posed by Red Rover was if the majority of citizens in a state think that torture is allowable, do we allow torture, or do we feel that there are certain issues which democracy cannot be allowed to decide.We all agreed (see the comments) that the statistics in question were probably misleading, and didn't

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132749996370957892005-11-23T12:46:00.000Z2005-11-23T12:47:18.686Z

The BBC has some of the detains of the Bill on amnesty for suspected terrorists on the run.It's also been raised in Prime Minister's Question Time.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132739414225559122005-11-23T09:50:00.000Z2005-11-23T09:50:14.230Z

As you can see, I've renamed the blog. A personal error: typing londonexile.blogspot.com lead me to a blog which wasn't mine, but had the same name. For the sake of avoiding confusion, I've renamed this blog. I'd appreciate if those (one or two) of you who've linked would rename your link, the URL remains the same.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132738405495343132005-11-23T09:33:00.000Z2005-11-23T09:33:25.496Z

This piece suggests that the list of countries with an interest in these CIA stopovers now extends to include Malta, Cyprus and Sweden. With the complete list now being: Ireland, Britain, Spain, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Poland, Sweden. This growing concern amongst the public of Europe might mobilise Governments to take some form of action. I mentioned yesterday that a letter was being drafted from

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132737621380873762005-11-23T09:20:00.000Z2005-11-23T09:20:21.380Z

There is a very snappy piece over at The Times (link to site only, need to sign in to view articles) by a QC, entitled: 'Milton was right, truth is stronger than faction'. It concerns the indirect incitement to terrorism offences in the Terrorism Bill, and finishes with a beautiful invocation of John Milton in Areopagitica (1644): “. . . who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132737361704015292005-11-23T09:16:00.000Z2005-11-23T09:16:01.703Z

I've been hard-pushed to find any news of the Bill to provide for amnesty for suspected terrorists on the run. It's going through the Commons today. Ireland.com has this snippet: "Proposed British legislation granting an effective amnesty or pardon to 'on the run' terrorist suspects (OTRs) is expected to run into opposition during its second reading in the House of Commons today. British prime

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132736800887841062005-11-23T09:06:00.000Z2005-11-23T09:06:40.916Z

While this story has a happy ending, one has to wonder how many do not. The libel laws in Britain & Ireland come under constant attack, and they do tend to have a 'chilling effect' on investigative journalism. However, the effect that a reckless tabloid can have on the life of an ordinary person remains profound. The person in this case, Mr Mohammed el Guerbozi, is described as "devout Muslim

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132659685261013912005-11-22T11:41:00.000Z2005-11-22T11:41:25.273Z

This story from Reuters is good. The EU is to write a joint letter asking for clarification of CIA activities in Europe. Furthermore, there's a "Breaking News" story over at The Irish Times, which I can't access due to lack of subscription. The headline is 'Call for annulment of EU-US passenger data law'. Is this related to the CIA?

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132650957471297612005-11-22T09:15:00.000Z2005-11-22T09:16:56.393Z

The Guardian has a story in the print edition today, 'Ministers silent on CIA flights to transport terror suspects' (pg 16), that I can't find in the online edition.It begins..."MPs stepped up pressure on ministers yesterday to disclose details of CIA aircraft using British airfields amid reports that they have transported individuals to foreign countries where they are likely to be tortured."

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132614145768474192005-11-21T23:02:00.000Z2005-11-21T23:02:25.770Z

Rachel North London has just gotten around to sharing her views on Sir Ian Blair's Richard Dimbleby Lecture, as I did here (Part 1) and here (Part 2). I think we say broadly similar things, Rachel's views on Blair's charisma are particularly interesting, as I've yet to find a stream.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132612877347959402005-11-21T22:29:00.000Z2005-11-21T22:41:17.353Z

A Smorgesbord on Shannon's Torture Role, at Where's Me Country, got me thinking (a danger pass-time, I know). The interest of Spain, Greece, and Poland, amongst others, poses the possibility of sorting the whole Shannon debacle out on a European level - which would undermine the threat of any economic reprecussion for Ireland (which is, I believe, our primary reason for not taking stronger action

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132611270661169392005-11-21T22:14:00.000Z2005-11-21T22:14:30.663Z

Guido Fawkes is an absolutely irreverent look at British politics. And named for the infamous Guy Fawkes, the subject of a book I'm reading at present: Faith and Treason: The Gunpowder Plot by Antonia Fraser.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132609516926170332005-11-21T21:45:00.000Z2005-11-21T21:51:36.683Z

The BBC has this quick piece on the Lords' look at the Terrorism Bill."Home Office Minister Baroness Scotland said the government would not try to overturn the decision as the Terrorism Bill is debated in the House of Lords."While it would be nice to think that this represents Parliamentarianism on the part of the Government, it's more likely to be a case of quit-while-you're-behind.The following

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132568193078136952005-11-21T10:16:00.000Z2005-11-21T10:16:33.736Z

This looks like it's a blog I'm going to love to hate. The Counter-terrorism Blog runs the story: 'Impediments to Counterterrorism Efforts in the United States'. A few comments: "In the aftermath of 9/11, why hasn’t the United States suffered another terrorist attack?" This is an idiotic argument. A friend of mine calls this argument the lion-book argument. Here I am, in the middle of London,

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132566504632364972005-11-21T09:48:00.000Z2005-11-21T09:48:24.780Z

The Lords will today debate the Terrorism Bill during its second reading in the Upper House. The Guardian has the story of Tory Blair's threat to the Lords not to find themselves "particularly out of touch with public opinion". It's a sorry state that we have to look to a thoroughly unrepresentative & undemocratic House of Lords to prevent these draconian measures from becoming law. It's

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132490655098335292005-11-20T12:44:00.000Z2005-11-20T12:45:25.006Z

The Tribune runs the following story today:"Iraqi terrorists 'not targeting Muslims'THE Middle East's most feared terrorist has sought to justify a triple suicide bombing that killed 59 civilians by insisting he did not deliberately target a wedding party and telling Muslims that he was not attacking them."Perhaps he should stop killing them then.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132410840871028362005-11-19T14:34:00.000Z2005-11-19T14:34:00.870Z

I think this post from Little Green Footballs proves my point about the lack of moderation. Now, I know you'll find the crazies if you look for them (I wasn't looking though, I was just browsing), but what's more worrying - the post or the comments? Somewhat hearteningly, while thousands of people visit the page, most only visit on page: the hits is always equal to the unique visits. Perhaps

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132400285885313652005-11-19T11:38:00.000Z2005-11-19T11:38:05.886Z

Yahoo! tells me the Bill did indeed get stalled. Let's hope that the compromise is a reasonable one.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132400100812326272005-11-19T11:35:00.000Z2005-11-19T11:35:00.816Z

This post, on a blog I've just looked at for the first time, highlights the passage of the PATRIOT Act through its renewal process. Some Senators are threatening to filibuster the Bill. The blog calls for moderation- not throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The problem is, if those intent on pushing the Bill through are unwilling to compromise (like Blair was on his 90 day detention),

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132399448130635802005-11-19T11:24:00.000Z2005-11-19T11:24:08.130Z

The Standard notes that many police officers don't want to carry firearms all of the time. Interestingly, I recently read an article that highlighted that even though there were tens of thousands of firearm operations authorised last year, less than twenty bullets were fired. I will have to dig out the article before I can write more on that though. Nice to see that the police are reflecting on

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18970861.post-1132399048241596532005-11-19T11:17:00.000Z2005-11-19T11:17:28.240Z

Dated, but still funny.

London Denizenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17200115190339162487noreply@blogger.com0