June 2009
1 post
Orwell's 1984 sixty years on →
The classic was published on 8 June 1949 – and has had a deep impact on millions. Andrew Johnson talks to writers about it – and asks them to cite their favourite reads
May 2009
2 posts
Now drinkers must wait in 'post office-style'... →
Drinkers in pubs are to be told to stand in a queue and banned from ordering more than two drinks at a time at the bar.
Rope barriers similar to those used in shops and post offices will be installed to keep customers in line.
The plan has been proposed following concern over disorder and violence in a town centre’s bars.
The two-drink limit is intended to curb binge-drinking and stop...
April 2009
4 posts
Nosey councils face surveillance ban →
Councils are to be banned from using covert surveillance measures to target “trivial” offences.
Town hall officials have been condemned for using anti-terror powers to target people who put their bins out on the wrong day or let their dogs foul in the street.
Councillors or senior officials could soon be required to approve their use under plans set out in a review of changes to the...
Man who died of a heart attack during G20 protests... →
A newspaper seller who died of a heart attack during the G20 protests was ‘violently attacked’ by riot police, eye witnesses claim.
Ian Tomlinson, 47, was hit ‘near the head’ with a police baton and shoved to the ground by charging riot officers, according to statements received by the police watchdog.
Another witness claims he was bitten on the arm by a police dog.
The...
Personal web data to be stored for a year
New law forces service providers to record all your calls and emails from Monday
The mobile calls, emails and website visits of every person in Britain will be stored for a year under sweeping new powers which come into force on Monday. Privacy campaigners warned last night that the information would be used by the Government to create a giant “Big Brother” super-database containing a...
January 2009
2 posts
Hacking the home | open Democracy →
shadowfirebird:
‘Since 4th January we’ve known it: the UK police will soon be able to hack into people’s personal computers without a search warrant, in line with “EU initiatives against cybercrime”.’
Why is Labour so keen to imprison us? | Telegraph →
shadowfirebird:
‘It is now an imprisonable offence to allow an unlicensed concert to take place in a church hall. You can go to prison if your child fails to attend school, or if you smoke in a public place, or if you fail to obtain a passport for your pet donkey or if you are a child caught in possession of a firework at any time other than on or around November 5 or New Year’s Day.’
October 2008
1 post
“This growing anti-intellectualism on the right is alarming. It isn’t that Palin...”
– The Agitator (via azspot)
War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength.
(via fuddmain)
September 2008
4 posts
Cory Doctorow: "Britain will make foreigners carry... →
shadowfirebird:
‘To my friends, I say this: your Labour Party has taken my biometrics and will force me to carry the papers my grandparents destroyed when they fled the Soviet Union. In living memory, my family has been chased from its home by governments whose policies and justification the Labour Party has aped. Your Labour Party has made me afraid in Britain, and has made me seriously...
Nick Cohen: "Meet Sally. Her case should scare us... →
shadowfirebird:
‘They let her go, but soon hauled her back in. Before her second interrogation, they left her shivering in a cell. Before her third, a woman officer put on rubber gloves and strip-searched her. After that, ‘I just lost my ability to think coherently,’ Sally Murrer said. ‘My brain went to cotton wool.’
Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, Putin’s Russia or Hu Jintao’s China? No, Gordon Brown’s...
Park pervert patrol shock | Shropshire Star →
shadowfirebird:
‘Anyone who wants to go to the park but is not accompanied by at least one youngster will have to explain why they are there.’
‘The policy came to light after two environmental campaigners dressed as penguins were thrown out of the park last month when caught handing out leaflets on climate change.
Telford & Wrekin Council said Rachel Whittaker and Neil Donaldson of the...
"Our obsession with crime is crushing our... →
shadowfirebird:
‘In Colchester, litter wardens are taking pictures of alleged offenders to publish them in the local paper. One local council has been reported as using officials to check car numbers outside homes to see who is sleeping with whom, for God knows what purpose. Children as young as eight are among 5,000 private citizens across the country recruited as paid ‘covert human intelligences...