BritVox - An Englishman's View of the Future

The Politics of Fear - Chipping away at our Civil Liberties

2009-02-18T06:09:00.000-08:00

A recent legislative change in the UK has made it essentially an offence to photograph an "on duty" Police Officer.

Yeah, read that again and marvel at the stupidity of the sentence, and then shake your head in despair when I tell you that it is in no way factually inaccurate.

The official explanation for this stunning piece of legislative nonsense is that Terrorists(tm) may gather information / intelligence by photographing members of the Police. Really, that is it, I shit you not.

Now, the current government, and specifically the Ministry of Justice (doesn't that sound as though there should be stylised eagles on the floors and fat-wheeled motorcycles and multi-ammunition sidearms and helmets... I digress) would probably want to stress that the change in the law (specifically the Counter Terrorism Act 2008) does not automatically make it illegal in all cases to point a camera at an "on-duty" Police Officer, but there is more than enough ambiguity in the legislation for either over-zealous or (God forbid) corrupt Police Officers to leverage their discretion into an arrest in the light of the change.

There is certainly enough threat in the legislative change for even the most begnin of Officers to be able to 'suggest' to a Press Photographer (just as an example) that they ought not take photographs as of course they could be arrested if they refuse to voluntarily desist, under the powers of this new Act. Go on, read those two sentences again... Yes, that's right, if a Police Officer is prepared to say that they are suspicious of your motives for taking photographs in a public place, or specifically of themselves or other Officers, then they can legally arrest you and demand that you turn over your gear and photographs.

Now, of course, this power would never be subverted or mis-used. That could never happen; not in England! you may perhaps agree that even the most law-abiding amongst us, even those of us who have a real respect both for the law and the Police on the whole, would have to concede that not all Police Officers are to be trusted, and certainly that there have been and will continue to be cause for concern with regard to legal provisions that erode our Civil Liberties and increase the arbitrary powers that the Police can wield.

Not only that, but let's be clear, Terrorists are not going to actually let this law stop them from gathering information, so all that this law is actually going to achieve is to offer the Police the power to move on, harrass or even arrest and interfere with entirely law abiding members of the Press and the Public who have cameras in their hands, by waving the law in their faces.

Now some people, have started to make rather exaggerated claims about the state of Britain in the light of this legislation (and other bits and pieces), and the words "Police State" have started to be chucked around. I would have to agree that this is perhaps excessive - we in Britain are not living in Pinochet's Chilé, or Ceauşescu's Romania.

Nonetheless the climate of political and civic apathy that seems to be strangling British Society at the present moment, leads me to feel that there is perhaps room for hyperbole, that there is a need to shock people out of their comfortable ignorance and confront them with the frightening precedent that this change represents.

Civil Liberties are a thousand times easier to give away than they are to win, and as a country that has not really experienced extreme social control for decades, the UK seems to be unaware of the fact that there are no guarantees of free speech or free association in our country. There is an un-written constitution based on precedent and tradition that allows for social freedom and generally it is a social freedom that is predicated on a simple social contract - if you're not hurting anyone, then on you go - but it allows for laws to be created that solidify the boundaries of our freedoms. Once codified, powers of social control are hard to remove from the organs of the State that wield them, and we should not be so trusting or so keen to hand our freedoms to anyone in return for some kind of illusory security.

In the end, one can reasonably hope that the vast majority of Police Officers will not abuse or over-use this power; that they will see the inherent danger in over-indulging their discretion no matter how tempting, and see that harassing or curtailing the activities of photographers for the sake of expediency is as damaging to their own liberties as British Subjects as it is for anyone and everyone else. What I hope for is that this issue can be talked about widely and loudly enough that more and more people will realise that we need to actively and jealously defend the scope of our personal freedom, rather than make the state our gaolers, even if we might be tempted by a gilded cage.

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This post was essentially inspired by a 'good soldier' of the Labour Party calling into question the use of the term 'Police State' with regard to this issue. While I do respect his intellectual position vis à vis the label and his dis-taste for its mis-use, I do still feel that for all its downsides sometimes a little hyperbole is what is needed.

You can see the blog post in question here, and if you look further down the page you will see my comment on it (I hope).

BLAB PICTURES - EOS EXPERTS: Featured 'tog Tuesday - Oliver Godby

2009-01-27T05:03:00.000-08:00

BLAB PICTURES - EOS EXPERTS: Featured 'tog Tuesday - Oliver Godby

Musings on The Changes in America...

2009-01-26T04:50:00.001-08:00

I've been giving this a lot of thought since the 20th of January and I think that I've worked it out. What have I worked out, you ask? I've worked out why I like Barack Obama.

Sure we have some political opinions in common, we're both educated Liberals with a belief in personal responsibility and straight talking, and overall he seems like a decent guy, but it's more than that...

For the first time in a very long time I can point at him and say, 'That's the kind of person I want running my country.'. Why do I want someone like Barack Obama running my country? It's really very simple, he has no problem telling truth to power (whether you see that as Americans or Corporate America or Old Money America, they are all getting the same rap), he has no problem with the politics of realism, and most important of all he has no problem reminding the people that he serves that while he can inspire and set the tone and direction of his country, without the people's support and engagement in the day to day running of his country he cannot succeed. He has as much as said that he will work tirelessly to fulfill his office if everyone else will accept that in order for their great democracy to work they all need to be involved, engaged and working (for at least some small portion of their time) towards the common good.

There is no one in British politics at the moment (or at least no one making enough noise for me to have noticed) who is prepared to offer to lead on the basis of the challenge of 'get involved', no one reminding us, the electorate that politicians work for us, not for their corporate friends, or their social agenda, or their religion, or even for their own advancement; they work for you and me. Sure it is reasonable for them to expect to be well (though not over exuberantly) paid for their hard work, and for that work to lead to other pastures once they leave public life, but the first priority of any public servant should be obvious - the clue is in the name.

I am sure that President Obama is no saint, that he would love a Nobel Prize or to leave office and be an envoy for the UN in four or, fate-willing, eight years time, that he has ambition of his own, but for the first time in a long, long time I really believe that there is a person in the Oval Office who sees the truth that putting his or her ambition aside for the greater good of their constituency is the surest route to affecting change. If Obama truly embraces his duty and is the President of the People then he cannot be manipulated into inaction or pandering, as he has nothing to lose but his office, and the Office really is greater than the man.

I hope I am right about him, and I hope I am right to have faith in the American People that they will see (if I am right) that their prosperity, health and freedom is his mission day to day, week to week and judge him on that rather than anything else. If that can happen, if a good man truly can become President of the United States then maybe, just maybe a good man (or woman) really can come to the fore and lead us in Britain into an age where the good of the many and the rewards of the just and the caring is the bounty of all and far outweighs the greed for power and money of the few.

BritVox III - I'm Off to South Africa...

2008-10-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

BritVox II

2008-10-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Not Safe For Work, hopefully funny, you have been warned...

I've started (properly) Video Blogging...

2008-10-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Part I

Part II

Why you should drink coffee black

2008-09-05T06:16:00.001-07:00

This gem was provided to me by a fellow coffee aficianado in the hosting team at my current place of work:

http://ping.fm/Ol0vk

LOL

Official Announcement - 365 Portraits, LIVE!

2008-09-02T04:57:00.001-07:00

OK, there has not been a lot of communication from me on this subject for a while and I realise that we are now getting into the realms of short-notice, but I can now announce with final and complete certainty (well almost, more on that later) that the exhibition of my project "365 Portraits" will run from 12/09/2008 to 18/09/2008 in The Turbine House Exhibition Gallery at The Blake's Lock Museum in Reading.

If you can see this, then you are warmly invited to attend the 'Private View' on Friday 12th of September, starting at 1900h.

There have been some roadblocks along the way, including the prohibitive cost of having the collection printed, but this is by no means designed to be a sob-story, and the important fact is that the mountain has been almost completely conquered and the show will go on.

There are two remaining details to deal with between now and the 10th (when I get the keys):

1. I am still in need of a volunteer or two who are prepared to be anything from bored out of their minds to engaged in deep discussions with interested members of the public, for either / both of Tuesday and Thursday the 16th and 18th. Basically to get the space, it must be 'open' from at least 1030h to 1830h during the entirety of the exhibition and I have to go to work... I will be keeping the exhibition open under my own steam on the evenings, and the weekend, but I need some people who need to ring-fence some quality reading time, but who are comfortable dealing with the public if necessary. Any offers greatly received, please email me at - maleghast at gmail dot com.

2. I need to provide my own Pulic Liability Insurance for the duration of the exhibition or Reading Borough Council will not let me have the space. It may be that I just have a butchers on the internet and buy what I can get / afford and be done with it, but if anyone out there has experience with arranging / sourcing / buying short-term event insurance of this type, or even of any type and particularly if they can recommend a good, cheap broker, then I would be in your debt.

I hope that some / many / all of the people who can see this, plus their significant others (if for some reason I can't reach them) will come and see the show - a lot of the people who will see this blog-post are in the show. I hope some of you will be able to make it on the Friday evening, where there will indeed be 'pie and punch', or perhaps something a little more sophisticated. Anyone who can hook me up with cheap wine that is actually drinkable, and / or good nibbles may well get a copy of their picture presented to them (though not the show copy, as I hope to re-exhibit later this year / early next).

Those of you who can see this who blog in other scenes / environments / areas or just have different audiences to me who are prepared to do their bit passing on the details, you are forever in my debt and you are also shiny, special people. So that you can spread the word, here are some details:

Blakes Lock Museum

Dates: 12/09 -> 18/09 2008 | 1030h to 2130h

The Project on Flickr

There will also be a 'Page' on my Wordpress Blog with these details, but it's not ready yet - I will send another Ping around when that's live.

Thanks in advance to any and all that talk / blog about this for me :-)

Finally... I am going to say this up-front so that it's not a shock to anyone, and also to make it as clear as I can to the people most important to me that I have no expectations on this front;

This endeavour is costing me (conservatively) about £1k. Now, that is my choice and I'm not asking anyone to either praise my commitment, or mock my lunacy, I wanted to do this, this is the best way to make sure that it's my show, my vision, my achievement. Nonetheless there will be a donations box at the show, and rather like the money you may (or may not) spend on a piece of good shareware software, or the tip you leave after a good meal, if you enjoy the show, then please think about leaving a donation. I do not expect to even get close to recouping costs, but if I do, the balance of any further donations will go to charity, I have honestly not decided which one yet. Please feel free to give me some ideas...

There will also be the chance to buy either an 'official' / licenced digital copy of the picture or pictures that you like, or to order paper or canvas prints. Again, I do not expect this of people, but I want it to be possible, and I want to be transparent about the fact that there will be a mark-up on printing, so if you want to get the best deal, then I would think about the digital route and doing your own printing - there is simply no way for me to get it any cheaper than you can. For Reading locals I will be recommending a local tradesman, who appears as one of the portraits in the show. He is an excellent printer and framer and his prices are very good considering the qualilty of what he turns out. There will be more details on his services in the show literature (must get to Kinko's this weekend)...

Okay, that's it for now - I look forward to seeing as many of you as I am lucky enough to get on the 12th; thanks fo reading...

New Fun Things...

2008-08-28T10:20:00.001-07:00

So, I have managed to get on the Beta for Ping.fm a really cool tool that does some clever things that I wanted to do last year and never found the time to actually write the code - oops...

Basically it allows you to post to multiple blog / social network locations from one source; in this case I am using MSN.

I am going to use it for a while and let you all know what I think, but I can see this being a really important tool in the weeks and months to come, and I can definitely see some business applications of it as a tool as well - not just a convenience for internet whores like myself...

Thoughts on Matters in the USA

2008-03-19T21:22:00.001-07:00

Yet again I am awake at a time when any sane person would be asleep... I'm not going to go into my theories as to why this may be, but instead I am going to encourage anyone who reads this to go and watch this video:

Barack Obama "A More Perfect Union"

and then go and read this blogpost:

He wrote that himself...

For all of my concerns that Obama would not, could not deliver real change either through his pursuit of the Nomination of the Democratic Party, or on achieving that the Pursuit of the Presidency as the Democratic Nominee, or even as America's next President, I am starting to see that there is little chance that he couldn't, as real change seems to be truly at the core of his politics, his motivations and his person. To make the speech that I hope you have watched or will watch, linked above, took political courage of which we have not seen the like in the USA for a long, long time and frankly we have not seen here in the UK or elsewhere for that matter in far too long. To trust in the people that his argument can stand on its own merits, no matter that it might be unpopular to speak of it out loud or to give credence to the very real concerns on both sides of the race issue in the US shows rare integrity and purpose in a Presidential Candidate.

I know that my interest in US politics leaves a lot of the non-Americans who see and occasionally read this blog cold, but I do not see how anyone can make the argument that the politics of the last remaining democratic super power are irrelevant to the rest of us. The election that is coming in the US in November will directly affect our lives outside of the US, perhaps not so immediately as it will affect the lives of the people living in America, but it will nonetheless.

There is little doubt now that climate change is a real phenomenon, and not only that but that we are indeed a part of the process that has brought this phenomenon to bear upon our planet. When presented with a choice between John McCain and Barack Obama (for I am now certain despite my earlier doubts that he will be the Democratic Party's Nominee), there is no doubt in my mind that as one of the largest contributors of Greenhouse Gases, America will better serve the needs of the rest of humanity if led by Obama.

When we think of the war in Iraq and of the war in Afghanistan, do we want America - the lynchpin in the forces and political coalitions perpetuating these two conflicts - to be led by a man who still espouses a belief that they should be continued and potentially escalated (McCain), or by a man who has stated time and again that they should be brought to a close with all due speed, taking care to do as little further damage to the civilians of these two blighted nations and taking care to make certain that non-military, nationally and politically neutral assistance is rendered to them to ensure that they can recover and pursue their own destinies as sovreign nations (Obama)?

When we think about the future, and we see the inevitable shadow that the US casts on our popular culture, economies, international realtionships and general freedoms, do we want an America led by a man who despite his centrist tendencies is still wedded to the special interests of corporate America, or do we want an America led by a man who has not wavered in his challenge to the American people that together they can stand up to the financial elite and build a fairer, more just society?

It's hard to say isn't it, because here in the UK at least we have been hood-winked in the recent past by a powerful and apparently principled master of rhetoric - "Where is our social revolution? Where is __our__ hundred days?" where indeed is the social justice, educational excellence and revitalised community that we were promised by Tony Blair, a man who gave all the appearance of integrity and idealistic yet achievable vision? Even despite this hard, bitter lesson of our experience, is it not better to hope and believe that this message of unity between races and creeds, between rich and poor, conservative and liberal may indeed be true? For as America casts her shadow over all of us in so many ways, is it not possible to find some blessed shade from these times of greed and self-aggrandisement at any cost if the shadow were cast by a country united in purpose, striving to make their country a better, fairer, cleaner and intellectually revitalised place?

I ask my friends and acquaintances in the US to heed this man's message, not just for your own sakes, but for all of our sakes. I ask all of my friends and acquaintances outside the States to make the same plea of your American friends and acquaintances.

I am not a Christian, but I can see the wisdom in many parts of the Bible, particularly the New Testament while still acknowledging a good deal of the Bible's teaching to be arcane, though no doubt having been the best wisdom of its time, now superceded by greater, broader wisdom. Still in the Bible we can find the core of Obama's message to America and by implication to the World:

"Be subject to one another" (Ephesians 5:21)

We are a race of one people, what hurts one of us in the long (and sometimes short) run hurts all of us, whether that is asserted through faith or just through an understanding that there is no other logical way to perceive our lives. Whether you or I or anyone acts on the above quotation on its own merits as a philosophical truism, or in the context of the phrase that follows it "in the fear of Christ" as a command from God, or acts on comparable wisdom from every great religion on the face of this planet either as an act and article of faith or because even in the absence of faith one can see this sentiment as ultimately righteous and beneficial, then he is my brother and she is my sister. I truly believe that humanity has at its core the potential for great good and though that potential co-exists with the potential for great evil our own intelligence can be the executioner of that evil because we can see that what helps others can in turn help our own and all we have to do is start to help.

"This guy's walking down a street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes him a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here!" and the friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out." (stolen unashamedly from The West Wing - "Noël", Season 2, Episode 10)

For this one moment in time, let us be subject to one another; let us jump into the hole and show our friends that the way out of this hole is to choose to change, to pick a leader who really has a vision for how to make their part of the world a better place. And America, be subject to us in our need for the direction of your nation to be set by someone that in uniting your nation will make your influence over the world a kinder, fairer influence that will help us all to save our planet, to end some wars and to truly come together as one people for the good of all mankind - albeit by the tiny, tiny increments that we can only hope to see in my lifetime and the lifetime of the children I hope to have and the grandchildren I hope to see...