Gordon Brown proposes voting at 16 link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6258794.stm
Quote:
He also suggested the possibility of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 and changing the laws restricting the right to demonstrate in Parliament Square.
i think this is an excellent proposition, not just 'cause i'm 16 though! mainly because
1. at 16 i think most teenagers have enough knowledge about them to make a decision
2. if we can join the army at 16, and get full prison sentences at 17, restricting our vote to 18 never made much sense
and as for the rite to demonstrate, this is a good idea for loadsa reasons!
UK : Immigration vs dumbing down? Does anyone else think the real reason why so many people come here from the foreign countries to do work and so much work gets outsourced is really because too many people in England have actually dumbed themselves down?
In the 90s I remember loads of people in the UK seemed genuinely interested in computers, technology and learning about it (particularly with the optimism of the dot com era) - I even used to hear normal office shirts on the bus (not the IT staff...) chatting about the "latest Windows NT". Often what they were going on about was completely inaccurate, but at least they had some sort of interest..
And for those who didn't like computers they have always had the option to go to college, learn a trade such as carpentry, plumbing or being an electrician...
you don't even need a degree, not even in the 90s "Islington Set" time (Blair and Co), I don't have one and I still have had a decent job from 1992 onwards (apart from one "year off" in 2001-2002)
But then when things got "good" from 1997-2001 I remember loads of people deciding "hard work is uncool/geeky/nerdy" - caning bare drugs and lunching out their jobs/courses halfway through, at the same time global competition was intensifying (the same market-based competition that initially caused the dot-com boom!) -
Then when they came back down to reality (redundancy payments all spent on drugs and rigs that are now worn out/in cop storage centres), lots of they found their jobs had been "taken" by people from other countries as the customers had got tired of missed delivery times, fucked up orders etc due to staff turnover/absenteeism..
deep down, is this the real cause of all the racial tension amongst so called "ravers" today I wonder? IMO people don't have the right to whine when this is the case (and I've been made redundant twice since 2001)...
Incidentally from speaking to some of the Polish staff at my work I've found out that many have given up "dream jobs" like being club promoters, working in the media and music industry - I think "shit, are market forces really that harsh people have to give up their dreams and ambitions to do menial work in England?" I'm surprised many from the "other side" aren't more angry!
BBC’s Gaza correspondent released A little good news for once :wink:
Have been reading a lot about this the last many months..I'm glad he's alive and well after the circumstances..
Probably need a lot of help to get over what he have been going through..
Quote:
BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been released by kidnappers in the Gaza Strip after 114 days in captivity.
Mr Johnston, 45, was handed over to armed men in Gaza City. He said his ordeal was like "being buried alive" but it was "fantastic" to be free.
And he described how he had been unable to see the sun for three months, and had once been chained for 24 hours.
Rallies worldwide had called for Mr Johnston's release. An online petition was signed by some 200,000 people.
Mr Johnston's father Graham said he and his wife were "overjoyed" at their son's release.
"It's been 114 days of a living nightmare," he said.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown also expressed his joy at Mr Johnston's release.
Rest of the story here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6267928.stm
G W Bush steps in to silence dissent this case was about a senior whitehouse aide who sold out the secret identity of a CIA agent because his wife was an anti-Iraq-war campaigner
he was found guilty by a jury... and again by the appeal courts, but Georgey boy has had him let off
after all, we can't go having any free speech against an illegal war, and what is an impartial court of law anyway. That sort of thing is probably communist
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6263616.stm
Glasgow airport: Accident or terror attack? I guess it can be an accident...But :hopeless:
What the hell's going on :crazy_diz
Quote:
A car on fire has been driven at the main terminal building at Glasgow Airport, police have confirmed.
Eyewitnesses have described a Jeep Cherokee being driven at speed towards the building with flames coming out from underneath.
They have also described seeing two Aisan men, one of whom was on fire, who had been in the car.
The airport has been evacuated and all flights suspended following the incident.
One eyewitness said: "I heard the sound of a car's wheels spinning and smoke smoke coming out.
"I saw a Jeep Cherokee apparently as if it was trying to get right through the doors into the terminal building.
"There were flames coming out from underneath then some men appeared from in amongst the flames.
"The police ran over and the people started fighting with the police. I then heard what sounded like an explosion."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6257194.stm12
read and sign the government say you can only hear music if you pay large sums of money to commercial venues
read and sign below
The Government have recently passed laws in the UK to try and suppress live music and dance. Pubs which could previously offer work to solo singers or duos now have to pay for a special licence and can only have 12 of these per year. Even school Xmas concerts need to be licensed.
If you don't know there is a UK government web site where anyone can now start a petition and that's what is being done. we've just received the following email which explains things more clearly and gives the site address . If you care about keeping music live please take the time to sign the petition.
Subject: Music/Licensing Laws - Official Downing Street petition
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:36:37
Please circulate
The live music/licensing e-petition now has nearly 4550 signatures.
It currently stands at no.17 in the list of 1,702 petitions on the
Number 10 website: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/licensing/
This is good, especially in just under a month - and there are five
more months in which people can sign. (CLOSING DATE: 11 June 2007).
But the petition needs to do much better to make an impression on ministers, and to encourage DCMS to implement music-friendly amendments.
The petition is for everyone, not just musicians. Please consider
signing if you haven't already done so. If you have signed, encourage friends to sign.
Points to remember about the new legislation:
a.. The unlicensed provision of even one musician is a potential
criminal offence (although some places are exempt, including places of public religious worship, royal palaces and moving vehicles). Max penalty: £20,000 fine and six months in prison.
b.. The rationale is to prevent noise, crime and disorder, to ensure public safety, and the protection of children from harm.
c.. But broadcast entertainment, including sport and music, is exempt - no matter where, and no matter how powerfully amplified.
d.. In the transition to the new regime, bars with jukeboxes, CD
players etc were automatically granted a license to play recorded
music; but their automatic entitlement to one or two musicians was abolished.
e.. For the first time, private performances raising money for charity are licensable.
f.. School performances open to friends and family are licensable -
they count as public performances.
g.. Under the old regime all premises licensed to sell alcohol for
consumption on the premises were automatically allowed up to two live musicians (the 'two in a bar rule').
h.. In December, DCMS published research confirming that about 40% of these have lost any automatic entitlement to live music as a result of the new Act:
'Very few establishments that wanted a new license were denied it, and many who were previously limited to 2-in-a-bar now have the ability to stage music with 2 or more musicians... This contrasts, of course, with the fact that 40% of establishments now have no automatic means of putting on live music (i.e. they would have to give a TEN).'
['Licensing Act 2003: The experience of smaller establishments in
applying for live music authorization'; December 2006', paragraphs
6.1.1 and 6.1.2 'Conclusions', p54; Caroline Callahan, Andy Martin,
Anna Pierce, Ipsos-MORI]
'TEN' stands for Temporary Event Notice - in effect a temporary
entertainment licence. Only 12 are allowed per premises per year.
They cost £21 each. See the full MORI reports on this site:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/Reference_library/Research/research_by_dcms/live_music_exec_summary.htm
there's a war coming to your doorstep12
Asbo proves a career boost
The Oxford Mail wrote:
In 2006, Ryan Hawkins became the first raver in the country to be banned from organising illegal parties under the terms of a unique Asbo.Eighteen months later, he has turned that infamy into a career boost and even changed his stage name to Ryan Asbo.
Mr Hawkins was handed the order after admitting organising a string of illegal parties, mainly on the Ridgeway, and police described him as a "major player in the Oxfordshire rave scene".
But since the banning order, Mr Hawkins's stock has soared on the Oxford dance scene - and he now promotes and performs at three regular nights. The 24-year-old DJ said: "I don't think I deserved to get one, but I am quite glad I did because I am a lot more successful.
"It did me the world of good. I am not rolling around in a field on Sundays."
Mr Hawkins, who lives in Marston, Oxford, has also had fun with his Asbo, through his new stage name and a theme night organised in honour of Thames Valley Police. But insists it is all in good humour and he has taken his Asbo seriously.
He said: "I was just under Ryan Hawkins before. Most DJs have a name with some meaning so I went for Ryan Asbo.
"In May, we did a theme night on Thames Valley Police as a bit of a wind-up. We did truncheon trance and charlie-echo techno. "Everyone came dressed up as the police. It was one of our most popular nights."
Under the terms of the Asbo, Mr Hawkins has to tell police seven days in advance if he intends to travel with records or sound equipment, say where he is going, when and give details of the car he is using.
The order expires in January and Mr Hawkins said he hoped to carry on promoting and set up his own business hiring out sound equipment. He admits that he misses the outdoor parties and is even thinking of planning a legal outdoor rave next summer.
But for now, he is concentrating on the three regular nights he promotes and plays at - Project Storm and Kinetic in Oxford and Surge Sound System in Banbury. Business at the Oxford nights is so good that one-off nights at the 1,200-capacity Oxford Brookes University are planned in the autumn.
:bounce_fl :bounce_fl
UK : LDN : 4 dead in gang violence in just 8 days
London's gang violence scarred us all
In just a few awful days, four British teenagers have died in gang attacks. The Observer brought together people who have been affected by the violence - from a top policeman to ex-gang members - in a remarkable meeting. Report by Anushka Asthana and Mark Townsend
Sunday July 1, 2007
The Observer
'Ben was murdered by cowards. They came with bats, knives and bottles. He had nothing.' James, 16, lowers his head as he speaks. He had been close to Ben Hitchcock since he was six years old and cannot comprehend that his friend has been killed so soon after finishing his GCSEs. 'People are dying over postcodes,' he says angrily. 'The killing will go on. It needs to stop but I don't see any solution. The police cannot do anything, there is no respect for them.'
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2115783,00.html
social/political/whatever change how would you think change could be achieved? do people still hold faith in change through politics and peaceful protests, or is more direct action nearer the mark, i.e. mass riots?
i dunno, i'm optimistic that politics can still change summat, but its gettin less likely imo...
UK : South : Not "terrorism", but no accident This seems to be happening a lot more often, in the North also I read a report about some lad nicking a car and deliberately driving into people :hopeless:
Boy hurt as car drives into crowd
A 16-year-old boy was seriously injured when a car deliberately drove into a group of teenagers in Hampshire.
Police said an estate car mounted the pavement in Sand Hill, Farnborough, and ploughed into a group of youngsters in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The car hit two of them before turning around and driving into the crowd for a second time and striking two more.
Hampshire police said one boy was badly injured in the hit-and-run and is in a stable condition in hospital.
It is not known if any of the other youngsters were badly hurt.
The driver of the vehicle has not yet been found.
Police have appealed for anyone with any information about the incident to contact them.
Car bomb found in central London :you_crazy:you_crazy:you_crazy
It just continues,people are crazy
Quote:
Police have disabled a car bomb containing gas cylinders in the heart of central London. Officers carried out a controlled explosion after reports of a suspicious vehicle parked in Haymarket shortly before 0200 BST (0100 GMT).
The area was cordoned off while police examined what they described as a "potentially viable explosive device".
The BBC's Andy Tighe said the timing was significant coming a day after Gordon Brown became prime minister
Rest of the story here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6252276.stm12
Gordon Brown? whats your thoughts about the new PM?
i gotta admit i don't know much about the geezer, but from what i've heard he's more left-wing and has picked a very liberal cabinet, this has gotta be a good thing rite?
who knows, maybe he will revoke some of the "anti-terrorism" laws that are restrictin us and even try and calm the surveillance society somewhat, but i doubt it...
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