The Wardman Wire

Three gay teenagers are on death row in Iran: please help to try and save them

Paul Canning — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:04:41 +0000

Iran is preparing once again to execute young gay men arrested while they were a minor. Guilty of ‘lavat’ (i.e. sexual conduct between two men, regardless of penetration), the three teenagers do not yet have dates set for their state-sponsored murders, but according to Human Rights Watch and Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees it could happen [...]

Post from: The Wardman Wire

Three gay teenagers are on death row in Iran: please help to try and save them

Lord Martin on Damian Green: car-crash committee evidence

Carl Gardner — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:55:26 +0000

A special Commons committee chaired by Sir Ming Campbell is currently inquiring into the arrest of Damian Green MP last year, and search of his Parliamentary offices; and last Monday they heard evidence from the former Speaker, now Lord Martin. You can watch the full session here, and if you're interested in this affair, you should. This evidence is the final proof that Martin was unfit for his office.A special Commons committee chaired by Sir Ming Campbell is currently inquiring into the arrest of Damian Green MP last year, and search of his Parliamentary offices; and last Monday they heard evidence from the former Speaker, now Lord Martin. You can watch the full session here, and if you’re interested in this affair, you [...]

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Lord Martin on Damian Green: car-crash committee evidence

Welsh police spend 20k investigating murder of man reported by his ghost via a medium

Matt Wardman — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:39:52 +0000

I've quoted a whole Guardian piece because I am shocked into silence.

An element of the Welsh police force appears to be disturbed in the balance of their mind, and the Welsh Police have made themselves, as the source admits, a laughing stock.

From the Guardian:

A police force has defended spending £20,000 investigating a man's death after his ghost was said to have told psychics that gangsters had forced him to drink petrol and bleach.

Carlos Assaf, 32, a baker, was found dead at his flat in Lampeter, west Wales, after a row with his girlfriend, Louise Edwards, 23, on 30 March.

An inquest this week recorded a verdict of suicide after hearing there was no evidence of foul play. However the coroner, Peter Brunton, queried the murder inquiry held after mediums tipped off police, suggesting that the words "lion, a horse and a man called Tony Fox" were significant. "There was a great deal of communication between the mediums and the police," he said. "A great deal of effort was expended in following these leads up."

Detectives visited a dozen pubs called the Red Lion and Black Horse from Burry Port to Tregaron. They even visited the Feathers hotel in Aberaeron because there is a statue of a horse outside.

The psychics claimed Assaf's ghost contacted them to say he had been strangled by gangsters and forced to drink petrol and bleach. A second postmortem examination was ordered, which found no sign of bleach or petrol in his digestive tract.

A statement from Dyfed-Powys police said: "The revelations of the mystics were brought to our attention via the family and these were followed to reassure the family that the full circumstances of the death were as they appeared. Police have a responsibility to the deceased, their family and the public to investigate all deaths thoroughly."

Sergeant Mark Webb told the inquest that officers began investigating links with "Tony Fox". He said: "We received communications from friends and family of Mr Assaf involving spiritualist mediums. We interviewed the mediums and, having carried out an investigation, we found the information far from conclusive. We wanted to be absolutely satisfied there was no third party involved."

The coroner's officer, Eric James, said that it had not been possible to ascertain who had put the police in touch with the psychics. "The family said in court that it wasn't them," he said. "It certainly did happen because the CID were involved."

At the Red Lion in Pembrey, a staff member recalled the police visit. "They wanted to know if this bloke had ever come in here or if he had worked here. They asked about other Red Lions in the area. It is difficult with the clairvoyant really, it is not something you could dismiss without checking what they said was possible."

A police source said: "We are becoming a laughing stock. We went haring across the country looking for a lion, a horse and someone called Fox based on info from cranks. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be a wild goose chase which cost at least £20,000 in time and resources."

It sounds as if a certain Chief Constable or one of his subordinates may need to be forcibly retired to a mental hospital, with 20k ukp deducted from his pension.

I’ve quoted a whole Guardian piece because I am shocked into silence. An element of the Welsh police force appears to be disturbed in the balance of their mind, and the Welsh Police have made themselves, as the source admits, a laughing stock. From the Guardian: A police force has defended spending £20,000 investigating a man’s death after [...]

Post from: The Wardman Wire

Welsh police spend 20k investigating murder of man reported by his ghost via a medium

Open Europe calls for an opt-out from equal pay

Carl Gardner — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:50:30 +0000

For many years Eurosceptic Conservatives have wanted the UK to be "opted out" of EU social legislation - John Major negotiated an opt-out from the "social chapter" at Maastricht and Michael Howard has long been arguing for repatriation of power in the social and employment field. A very important point that I think needs drawing attention to, though, is that Open Europe is calling for an opt-out from all EU social law - including what's now article 141 TEC, and what will soon be article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the Union. I think Open Europe, and Conservatives and others who want "social repatriation", need to be explicit about it if they want out of equal pay - it may affect many people's attitude to their proposals. I'll be interested to see how they justify the proposal, if they can.For many years Eurosceptic Conservatives have wanted the UK to be “opted out” of EU social legislation – John Major negotiated an opt-out from the “social chapter” at Maastricht (though he seemed to get no thanks for that from his own backbenchers) and Michael Howard has long been arguing for repatriation of power in the [...]

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Open Europe calls for an opt-out from equal pay

Eyup, Duck – The Duck House Parliament

Matt Wardman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:39:29 +0000

Quite: It’s the Vote for a Change campaign, keeping the buggers’ feet to the fire. Post from: The Wardman WireEyup, Duck – The Duck House Parliament

Post from: The Wardman Wire

Eyup, Duck – The Duck House Parliament

Local Blog impact on Local Democracy: Somerton Town Council

Matt Wardman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:14:03 +0000

Local Bloggers are beginning to produce a few good examples of effective scrutiny of Local Councils. In this piece David Keen, who is a Vicar in Yeovil and writes regularly for my Wardman Wire political site, gives an account of a local controversy in the Somerset town of Somerton, which has lead to a number of resignations from the Town Council.

Further, some national commentators are beginning to notice that local blogs have a place in building a better political culture in the UK.

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Local Blog impact on Local Democracy: Somerton Town Council

Local Blog impact on Local Democracy: Somerton Town Council

Matt Wardman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:13:04 +0000

Further, some national commentators are beginning to notice that local blogs have a place in building a better political culture in the UK.

Post from: The Wardman Wire

Local Blog impact on Local Democracy: Somerton Town Council

Kelly Report into MP Expenses – Summary of Changes

Matt Wardman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:49:59 +0000

The Kelly Report has been published this week, and like the Legg Report from a few weeks ago, the Kelly Report is a further step in the right direction.

To my mind the basic principle that must underlie any new system, and which must be pursued relentlessly, is the one for which I argued back in February 2008:

I’d like to see the arrangents for politicians be as close as possible to those experienced by the normal population

The Kelly Report has much that is good in the detail, for example in the limitation of food claims to MPs staying in hotels, and that receipts are now required. But there are a series of areas where The Kelly Report has come down on the wrong side of the line, or which have simply been scoped out of the report.

The Kelly Report has been published this week, and like the Legg Report from a few weeks ago, the Kelly Report is a further step in the right direction. You can download PDF versions of the Full Report, or the Executive Summary. I have included a table summarising the main proposals below. To my mind the basic [...]

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Kelly Report into MP Expenses – Summary of Changes