Police Commander Ali Dizaei sent to prison

One of the most controversial police officers I can remember, Commander Ali Dizaei, has been sent to prison for four years. After numerous troubles and trials he has been brought to justice for misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice.

Ali has always been a divisive person. He has built a career by being an ethnic minority. He was president of the Black Police Association. This probably allowed him to get away with a lot. He has been accused of corruption and misuse of public funds in the past, but the police are do scared with issues of race they did not deal with him like they should.

So his misdeeds continued.

Until now.

The trial showed a very nasty piece of work. I'm not going to deal with his womanising, or his alleged drug taking. I'm talking of the fact that this is a policeman who parked on double yellow lines when he went to dinner (a major bugbear for me). Worse, the fact that he rarely paid for any meals or drinks when he went out. See here.

This is corruption clear and simple.

This is utterly unacceptable for any police officer. This is something found during the bad old days when such corruption was prevalent. It is like something from 'Life on Mars' not modern reality.

But he got away with it for years.

What gets me is the views of the National Black Police Association on Ali's conviction. They say that his conviction 'has come as a surprise', see here. others are saying that his conviction will have dire consequences for race relations, see here.

This man is a criminal. A corrupt bully who tried to send a innocent man to jail. He is guilty. He faced a fair trial and proved guilty.

It is unacceptable for an association of police officers to say it is a surprise.

This is a senior police officer who is a criminal. His actions reflects very badly on police officers in general. In spite of this the Metropolitan police have come out and called him a criminal in uniform.

The fact that the NBPA do not understand that Ali is a criminal. And as such is not a person to respect.

If his actions insult all police, it is much worse for ethnic minority officers. For the NBPA not to condemn his crimes reflects a complete misunderstanding of how our legal system actually works:

we are all innocent until we are proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt after a fair trial.

But after this trial and this verdict the criminal should not have any sympathy or any support from serving officers. Especially an association funded by the tax payer.

The fact that the black police body does not understand this is worrying.

All police officers are police officers. They are there to uphold the law, to wear the Queen's uniform to protect the public. They are all equal. As such there should not be any ghetto organisations, be they black, white, Muslim, Christian, female, male....any group that separates people.

All police should be equal. Should do their duty to all the public regardless of sexuality, religion, skin pigmentation, or gender. These politically correct groups undermine this.

Dizaei is a symbol of what happens to our police when political correctness rules. Tragically some associations can not see this.

What really scares me is what would have happened if the man Ali tried to send to prison by his lies had been white. Do you think he would have got off even with all the evidence of his innocence?

Luckily we've got rid of this disgrace for a police man.

Tory Bear being sued by Sarah Teather MP

That popular blogger , Tory Bear, is being sued by the diminutive Lib-Dem MP, Sarah Teather. The reason is that he has called her a thief in his blog. Apparently Tory Bear thinks that this MP is fraudulently claiming for rent in order to fund her party. See here.

I do not know the ins and outs of the case but it does seem stupid for Teather to sue someone during an election cycle. MPs expenses is not a popular topic at the moment so it might not be best to have all her expenses dragged out in court for the voting public to see.

To me it seems like a recipe to lose votes and alienated people. And that's if she wins!

Gita Sahgal: her statement on being suspended by Amnesty International

Amnesty International is a charity which is lucky enough to garner massive support with the movers and shakers in the media. I grew up with Amnesty's 'Secret Policeman's Ball'. These celeb sparkling events entertained, raised their profile and funds brilliantly.

Things have changed though for me. I've never agreed with everything they did. But that's not the point. They are supposed to be impartial. Such impartiality can be uncomfortable. That is part of their job.

Today however AI leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This bastion of human rights (self-styled) has suspended one of their key workers. Gita Sahgal, see here. Now Gita was one of their leading lights regarding the rights for women. You don't need to agree with everything she says or does to understand that her stance is sincere and for the best motives. No one should want women and children abused. That was Gita's mission to stop such abuse.

But Amnesty has suspended her, She has written a statement about this suspension, it says as follows:-

'Statement by Gita Sahgal

7 February 2010

This morning the Sunday Times published an article about Amnesty International’s association with groups that support the Taliban and promote Islamic Right ideas. In that article, I was quoted as raising concerns about Amnesty’s very high profile associations with Guantanamo-detainee Moazzam Begg. I felt that Amnesty International was risking its reputation by associating itself with Begg, who heads an organization, Cageprisoners, that actively promotes Islamic Right ideas and individuals.

Within a few hours of the article being published, Amnesty had suspended me from my job.

A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when a great organisation must ask: if it lies to itself, can it demand the truth of others? For in defending the torture standard, one of the strongest and most embedded in international human rights law, Amnesty International has sanitized the history and politics of the ex-Guantanamo detainee, Moazzam Begg and completely failed to recognize the nature of his organisation Cageprisoners.

The tragedy here is that the necessary defence of the torture standard has been inexcusably allied to the political legitimization of individuals and organisations belonging to the Islamic Right.

I have always opposed the illegal detention and torture of Muslim men at Guantanamo Bay and during the so-called War on Terror. I have been horrified and appalled by the treatment of people like Moazzam Begg and I have personally told him so. I have vocally opposed attempts by governments to justify ‘torture lite’.

The issue is not about Moazzam Begg’s freedom of opinion, nor about his right to propound his views: he already exercises these rights fully as he should. The issue is a fundamental one about the importance of the human rights movement maintaining an objective distance from groups and ideas that are committed to systematic discrimination and fundamentally undermine the universality of human rights. I have raised this issue because of my firm belief in human rights for all.

I sent two memos to my management asking a series of questions about what considerations were given to the nature of the relationship with Moazzam Begg and his organisation, Cageprisoners. I have received no answer to my questions. There has been a history of warnings within Amnesty that it is inadvisable to partner with Begg. Amnesty has created the impression that Begg is not only a victim of human rights violations but a defender of human rights. Many of my highly respected colleagues, each well-regarded in their area of expertise has said so. Each has been set aside.

As a result of my speaking to the Sunday Times, Amnesty International has announced that it has launched an internal inquiry. This is the moment to press for public answers, and to demonstrate that there is already a public demand including from Amnesty International members, to restore the integrity of the organisation and remind it of its fundamental principles.

I have been a human rights campaigner for over three decades, defending the rights of women and ethnic minorities, defending religious freedom and the rights of victims of torture, and campaigning against illegal detention and state repression. I have raised the issue of the association of Amnesty International with groups such as Begg’s consistently within the organisation. I have now been suspended for trying to do my job and staying faithful to Amnesty’s mission to protect and defend human rights universally and impartially.' see here

A very eloquent statement.

My concern is this; allegations of torture does not transform a person into a saint. Begg has not been proven to have been tortured, only his media friends say he has been, I've written about this elsewhere. Even if he was innocent and mistreated (which is doubtful) for Amnesty to ignore his links to terror, his group was close to the failed underpants bomber, and their views on the rights of others, specifically women and non-Muslims is ridiculous.

I have written elsewhere, both in this blog and other places, that torture is wrong. But this is not about such abuse.

If his rights were abused it does not give him the right to support or preach the abuse of others.

It is incomprehensible to me that Amnesty has become so myopic that they do not understand this. By being so closely tied to extreme organisations gives such extremist's legitimacy and will damage the hard fought reputation Amnesty has developed.

They really need to think hard about what they are doing. They are there to support all our human rights. They cannot be blinkered by political bias this way. They seriously need to overhaul their operations and remove those who do not see why the suspension of Gita is a problem.

The Parliamentary Accused: 3 labour MPs & 1 Tory Peer

After all the scandal and the public disgust charges have been laid to the most blatant of the corrupt members of the UK parliament. So how many have been charged -- 200, 300, more.

No.

Even though the official inquiry found that 350 had wrongly claimed expenses, only 4 people have been charged. Three labour MPs and one Tory peer.

These scum are Elliot Morley, David Chaytor, Jim Devine, and Lord Hanningfield. See here. And that's it! Well the case of one of the biggest thieves, Lady Uddin is still being investigated, so they say. But that's it. 350 break the law and only 4 get charged.

It really is pathetic. It is so political it is beyond a joke. The worst are labour but they had to bring a Tory in so that labour cannot call the prosecutions biased. But no other parties? Sein Fein have four MPs living in a single flat, and each charging the taxpayer for the full amount of the running of the flat. This is obvious fraud but they've got away with it. Then again some have got away with murder and torture so perhaps it is no real surprise.

My opinion is simple, and has remained consistent. ALL those who fiddle should be prosecuted. I do not care what party they belong too. I do not care if they are the lowest MP or a leader of a major political party, they should be brought to justice. Only by purging the corrupt and the iffy can we hope to rebuild confidence in the political system.

The prosecution are so deferential and scared of offending our political masters that they have flunked it. pathetic really.

And just when you thought thing could not get more amusing, and you have to admit that the sight of pompous MPs being prosecuted is very amusing, the said MPs are trying to argue that they cannot be prosecuted for fraud because parliamentary privilege, as laid out in our 1689 Bill of Rights, gives them immunity to the law. See here.

Like I said, very amusing and smacks of desperation by the accused.

I do not have a lot. No mansion, and no hot and cold running servants, but even I would not steal from the taxpayer in this manner. I'm honest. Most people are. Because of this all those tainted by corruption need to be prosecuted and banned from public life for life. If this means destroying the traditional parities so be it. The country is much more important than parties.

The Aircruise Way to Travel: British Airship design

I've a soft spot for airships. Not as a historical curiosity but as a modern future technology. To be fair I can bore for the county on the subject.

In light of this penchant of mine I think the new concept by the British Designers, Seymourpowell, which they dub Aircruise.

This is a revolutionary concept. It is elegant and beautiful. They've also done a very slick video,

I love this sort of thing. This allowing yourself free reign to design something is exciting, if you can afford it. You could quibble about aspects of the design I suppose, you can always quibble. You could say that the interior is kind of 1960's sci-fi in feel.

This is not a problem though.This elegant design would carry a hundred passengers and twenty crew. It would have ten apartments, including a penthouse.

What is so great about this concept is that it is the opposite to the modern idea of fast travel. This concept would take thirty hours to fly from London to New York. Not fast. But it would make the act of travel part of the adventure. This is like the sea based travel.

It would turn the hassle of travel into a joy.

The green aspects of such a airship also reflects part of the growing mood in the public for the 'greener' option.

Samsung who commissioned this wonderful design no doubt did so to promote their more mundane efforts. It would be nice if it could be built by them. But it wont. The reason is that the prosaic and the boring rule over the eccentric and the unusual.

I do not think this shows modern society in that good a light. We need stuff like this to excite children and adults alike. We need it to show that we are not mere automatons.

It is a shame Aircruise wont be built. It would be fun if it would be though.

Sir Thomas Legg's Report of MP's fiddles.

Today marks the release of the final report into the MPs expenses has been released by Sir Thomas Legg. See here.

The whole thing stinks does it not. 350 of just over 600 MPs have been caught fiddling. Slightly over a million pounds have to be repaid.

Over half of our elected MPs have been caught bang to rights stealing from the tax payers. And it would have been much worse if the MPs in the report had not been treated very leniently by the Parliamentary powers that be.

The MPs themselves try to spin that they feel our pain and are going to change the system, and that the system not they are at fault. This is simply ridiculous.

The only thing that will do is to get rid of all those who have been caught fiddling. And they should be prosecuted. MPs are not, or should not, be above the law. If the MPs are treated differently than anyone else this will our political system will continue to be debased. Our politicians will be seen to be corrupt.

This stain of corruption will taint those MPs who are not bent. If it were me I'd resent this association. It would be unfair to the honest. This is not good for our country either nationally or internationally. This affair makes our country look corrupt. We aren't, but it looks bad if it is not sorted out now.

All the 350 people on Legg's list have no place in public life. In some cases this may be a draconian measure for a simple error. But it does not matter. If they remain the damage to our country will not be healed.

Ban them and prosecute the criminal. This is not rocket science. It will not happen, and that's the problem.

Brown blamed for putting lives at risk by his cuts

The most senior civil service at the time of the Iraq Inquiry, Sir Kevin Tebbit, has delivered a devastating attack on Gordon Brown during his testimony before the Iraq Inquiry. He told them that Brown cut a billion from the defence budget at time of war, meaning he had to run the department in crisis mode at the time of war, see here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8495964.stm

Brown thought that it would be Blair who felt the criticism but more and more it is Brown. This is serious. Senior insiders are testifying that Brown sent troops into harms way without providing the helicopters and vital equipment. Indeed purposely cancelling helicopters, see previous post.

Brown is coming out of this as what he is. The man who does not care about others, especially the military. All he can do is cut the funds of those who are fighting labour's war. Killing people by his cuts. Cutting the military but squandering billions on hair brained pet projects.

Ths is a devastating picture of Brown. He should ashamed... But he is shameless.


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