I have recently been reading a lot of books. Ironically, this was in part because I left a Kindle on a plane and had to get the app instead – having the books so temptingly close caused very rapid consumption. Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai by Robert Bickers, is the personal history…
Read More The personal history of a Lancashire fascistOwen Jones says Abolish the Met! This reminds me that of course, we did abolish a British police force within the last 15 years, the one with the funny hats and head constables. We also merged the Scottish ones into a single force. The PSNI does actually seem to be an improvement over the RUC,…
Read More Come to think of it, we abolished the RUCSo Andy Coulson, famously, was subject to a background check by Control Risks before joining Downing St. There was some doubt as to whether he had actually gone through the positive vetting process. Supposedly he had, and he was cleared to see “Strap 1” material. But then it turned out in fact the DVA hadn’t…
Read More We didn’t let Coulson see anything sensitive except for the SIGINTCold War nuts should follow Mike Kenner’s Twitter feed if they’re not already. His key shtick is getting interesting documents under FOIA and tweeting them bit by bit. This week, he’s got the national war instructions for the police, from 1977, codenamed POLWIN. This is some pretty bleak stuff, obviously; I can’t imagine instructions on…
Read More …and give reasons in writingHere’s the funny bit in this post: Charming. @metpoliceuk go on record to admit they are actually as suspected, a gang. Be afraid kids. #acab pic.twitter.com/HzfHmC1Q — Vicki (@Iamverysmart) January 12, 2013 OK, that done, a senior detective has been found guilty of leaking the phone-hacking investigation to the NoTW. This is the nut of…
Read More Public Affairs, the movie: three gang theory in actionMy mental model of the whole Murdoch/political complex, as I’ve said before, is that there have been two projects, The Project 1.0 and The Project 2.0. The first was the original use of “The Project” as Peter Mandelson introduced the phrase – the Blairite settlement, under which there was a transactional, bargaining relationship between the…
Read More The Project 2.0: confirmedAndy Coulson’s arrest by Strathclyde police differs dramatically from the other arrests in the great Murdoch scandal. Rather than been asked to come into the station by appointment, he was lifted at zero-dark-thirty without anyone hearing about it in advance. Obviously, 0630 isn’t exactly a dawn raid at 53 degrees North in late May, in…
Read More there’s been a murrrder.It looks like Daniel Davies’ plan to classify the world into people who file their accounts with Companies House on time, and people who don’t, may be less eccentric than it seems. News International missed, and asked for an extension. Obviously a dodgy lot of bastards. Anyway, check this quote out. Coincidentally, News International’s company…
Read More Companies House Webcheck, fount of moral judgment. And a full list of USSD code numbers, at lastFedorcio out they cry! See also this New Yorker piece on Viktor Bout. On April 26, 2005, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in the Treasury Department, unveiled sanctions aimed at Bout, thirty companies associated with him, and Chichakli. That morning, F.B.I. agents went to Chichakli’s home, in Texas, to search his office. They…
Read More out!So, I was at today’s NHS demo. Somebody had to be – I was shocked by how many people weren’t there. The streets were full of people who weren’t there. And there was a pretty standard demo pitched up on the pavement outside the Department of Health at Richmond House, 97 Whitehall. Speeches. Depression. Workers’…
Read More A report back from the NHS demo