International Law

What a Carry On Jacqui...

Posted on October 13, 2008
What a Carry On Jacqui...I'm celebrating with a spliff and a can of beer...Peers throw out 42-day detentionThe government's plans to extend terror detention limits to 42 days have been heavily defeated in the House of Lords.Peers voted to keep the current 28-day limit on pre-charge detentions by 309 votes to 118 - a majority of 191...

Pointy things

Posted on October 12, 2008
Pointy thingsA judge has ordered the Crown Prosecution Service to make a public apology to a gardener who was arrested and taken to court for carrying a scythe which he said he needed for his work."Peter Drew, 49, a self employed ground clearance contractor, had the scythe and other bladed tools in his work van when he was stopped by police on his way to a job in Penzance, Cornwall"...

What does Palin and car wreck have in common?

Posted on October 11, 2008
What does Palin and car wreck have in common?Sarah Palin 'unlawfully abused power' in feud with state tooper, report finds

Financial crisis and Animal pictures of the week

Posted on October 11, 2008
Financial crisis and Animal pictures of the weekThis picture says it all...Animal pictures of the weekSibu, an orangutan, returns to Dublin Zoo after seven years in Rhenen, the Netherlands. He was on-loan to the Dutch zoo for a breeding programme... Picture: PA...

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It's not all doom and gloom

Posted on October 10, 2008
It's not all doom and gloomAnd a rare white lion thrown in to boot...Guyana: Raw, bountiful and untouchedEgrets wade among the giant Victoria Amazonica lilies along the RupununiPicture: Nigel TisdallOrinduik Falls, on the Brazilian border, is ideal for a cooling swim in waters pouring over cliffs of pink jasperPicture: Nigel TisdallOne of the beautiful, delicate white flowers sprouting from the lilies' six-foot-wide leavesPicture: Nigel TisdallGuyana's southwest corner is home to the Rupununi, with bewitching savannahs speckled with huge cattle ranches and wetlandsPicture: Nigel TisdalManatees swim in the ponds of Georgetown's Botanical GardensPicture: Nigel TisdallWhite lions are highly visible to prey and attractive for game hunters and therefore extremely rare in the wild Photo: NEWSTEAM

3 of the best

Posted on October 10, 2008
3 of the bestA traditional butcher has been banned from chopping meat in the morning because residents complain he makes too much noise.What is it about Barking mad magistrates? Perhaps a solution would be to rent out the flat above the shop to someone who is hard of hearing or stone deaf? A gardener who fenced off his allotment patch with a single strand of barbed wire to protect it from thieves has been ordered to take it down in case intruders hurt themselves...

I must get out more

Posted on October 10, 2008
I must get out moreBBC radio presenters suspended after mocking disabled people"Andrew Hawes and Ian Hart have been taken off the airwaves at BBC Southern Counties after using the term "window licker" during a football phone-in show.Action was taken after Mr Hart told a football fan to "go and lick a window" during a row about Mickey Adams the manager of Brighton and Hove Albion...

Boris Johnson blackmailed Sir Ian Blair into resigning

Posted on October 10, 2008
Boris Johnson blackmailed Sir Ian Blair into resigningHome Office minister Lord West of Spithead said Mr Johnson had threatened to tell the media he had no confidence in Sir Ian unless he resigned.He told peers at question time: "As I understand it, the mayor said to the commissioner: 'If you don't go I will find someone to ask me a question, with the media there, as to whether I have confidence in you and if they do I will say I haven't'".

Family call for tougher sentence

Posted on October 10, 2008
Family call for tougher sentenceThe family of a Teesside man who died after a street attack are petitioning for a tougher sentence for his killer.Gavin Robinson hit his head on the pavement when he was punched to the ground in Thornaby in June. The 30-year-old later died in hospital...

Muslim gangs 'force inmates to convert'

Posted on October 10, 2008
Muslim gangs 'force inmates to convert'Muslim prison gangs are trying to force other inmates to sign up to Islamic radicalism, prison officers said.Extremists at high security HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire were pushing a "strict and extreme" interpretation of Islamic practice, inspectors were told...

Paedophile found murdered

Posted on October 10, 2008
Paedophile found murderedPolice were today investigating the murder of a paedophile whose body was dumped in woodland.Gordon Boon, 73, of Norwich, was found dead in Great Witchingham, Norfolk, on Monday.Post mortem tests found he died from strangulation, police said...

Over the top

Posted on October 09, 2008
Over the topThe family of a 101-year-old woman being forced to move from a care home have said they will consider taking further legal action if she dies.I am aware that moving house tends to be a stressful experience. I have no knowledge why the council decided to close this particular care home...

It's not an Ealing comedy it's a scandal

Posted on October 09, 2008
It's not an Ealing comedy it's a scandalMother gets £170,000 a year in benefits to live in £1.2m houseI am shocked by the above headline. To be fair, I am not aware of all the details. For example, there is no mention of a man about the house such as a Mr Saindi, is Mrs Saindi a single mother? Apparently, she "came to the UK from Afghanistan seven years ago"...

Woman kept prisoner at home by her own husband for 50 years

Posted on October 09, 2008
Woman kept prisoner at home by her own husband for 50 yearsA woman in Italy was kept a prisoner in her own home by her husband for 50 years, police have revealed."The wife was only allowed out of the house when accompanied by him, and was not allowed to speak with anyone else...

Up the spout

Posted on October 09, 2008
Up the spoutVolcanoes 'reload' with magma, making them more difficult to predict

Mouse bites snake to death

Posted on October 09, 2008
Mouse bites snake to deathA mouse bit a venomous viper to death after it was thrown into the snake's cage as a lunchtime snack.

Boris Johnson dreams up madcap scheme for 2012 London Games

Posted on October 09, 2008
Boris Johnson dreams up madcap scheme for 2012 London GamesBoris Johnson paused for breath, as he practiced the sport of trowel waving in readiness for the 2012 London Olympics, to announce that spectators will each be given a hand held TV to follow the events...

Cross-legged cabbies face loo ban

Posted on October 08, 2008
Cross-legged cabbies face loo banA Darlington taxi driver says he is prepared to go to jail rather than accept a 160-year-old law banning him from leaving his cab to spend a penny.Perhaps it is time that this piece of legislation is consigned to history and let it stay there?

Drugs and violence rife at prison

Posted on October 08, 2008
Drugs and violence rife at prisonA culture of hard drugs and violence remains rife at a Cheshire prison where gang members are recruited with £50 cash incentives, an inspection found.

Gales of laughter as the Tories are full of wind

Posted on October 08, 2008
Gales of laughter as the Tories are full of windI am rather puzzled why the Telegraph is reporting that The Conservative party have promised to end Labour's policy of allowing criminals to automatically walk out of jail early. Given that it appears to be a rehash of the article in the post below with just a different headline...

'Crippled' prisons risk violence

Posted on October 07, 2008
'Crippled' prisons risk violenceThe president of the Prison Governors Association is to warn of a "serious risk" of disturbances in jails because of a shortage of resources.According to Paul Tidball, prisons in England and Wales are in a "crippling, vicious circle"...

Amur tigers join Europe's biggest tiger enclosure at the Highland Wildlife Park

Posted on October 07, 2008
Amur tigers join Europe's biggest tiger enclosure at the Highland Wildlife ParkYuri and Sasha, two Amur tigers, formerly known as Siberian tigers, have arrived at Europe's biggest tiger enclosure at the Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie, ScotlandPicture: GETTYHundreds turned out to welcome the pair to their new home, where it is hoped they will continue to breed after having bred six cubs at Edinburgh Zoo, their previous homePicture: REUTERSThe public were given their first glimpse of the two big cats during their feeding timePicture: GETTYThey fed off meat hung 12 feet in the air, and appeared to settle in immediately to their new homePicture: GETTYEight members of staff were required to carry in each sedated animal, which can weigh up to 318kgPicture: GETTYTheir arrival at the wildlife park prompted a need for extra training for the tiger handlers and the requirement for gun licences, a necessity when dealing with the large felinesPicture: GETTYIt is felt that the addition of the rare tigers will raise the profile of the wildlife parkPicture: GETTYDespite the wild population of Amur tigers being the best it has been since before World War II, the creatures still face the serious threat of extinctionPicture: GETTYThere are currently 500 Amur tigers remaining in the world, it is believed the park can offer a sanctuary in which the tigers can breed and assist in conserving their speciesPicture: GETTYThe Amur tiger is now only found around the Amur river valley in Russia...

Tory prison plans are a pie in the sky

Posted on October 07, 2008
Tory prison plans are a pie in the skyApparently if the Tories get into power, they say they will pay prison governors thousands of pounds in bonuses just for doing their jobs."Under the Conservatives' plans, each Governor would be responsible for either a single prison or a 'cluster' of local prisons and would be in charge of "end-to-end" offender management, both in and out of prison"...

Judge orders Chinese Muslims released from Guantanamo in US

Posted on October 07, 2008
Judge orders Chinese Muslims released from Guantanamo in USA US judge has for the first time ordered the controversial release of Guantanamo Bay detainees in the United States in a rebuke to the Bush administration.District Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered that 17 Chinese Muslims should be freed by Friday...

Nacro join the prison business

Posted on October 06, 2008
Nacro join the prison businessBy: Ben Gunn - HMP Shepton MalletBen Gunn is concerned at Nacro leaping into bed with the private sector and considers their moral compass has gone astray.You know you have those mad dreams, or drug-fuelled fantasies, in which reality is twisted to offer an alternative? Where some dolly-bird Governor brings you breakfast in bed, dressed as a French maid? Or where the Home Secretary appears, in sack-cloth and ashes, apologising for being such a total arse and opens the gate for you? That's just how I felt, when I heard that Nacro was leaping into a big fluffy financial bed with that shady conglomerate that is nowadays called ?G4S?...

Rare white lion cubs born

Posted on October 06, 2008
Rare white lion cubs bornThree rare white lion cubs have been born near South Africa's Kruger National park. The number of white lions being born in the wild has dwindled significantly over the last 16 years.News of the latest births will be announced by the Global White Lion Protection Trust at an event in London on Friday...

42 days detention plan to be scrapped

Posted on October 06, 2008
42 days detention plan to be scrapped42-day detention dropped as unworkableGordon Brown is preparing for a humiliating climbdown over his proposal to hold terrorist suspects for 42 days after being told that it will be defeated in the House of Lords.Ministers admit privately that there is not ?a cat in Hell?s chance? of the legislation, which returns to the Lords this week, being passed into law...

Lawyers turn to drink and drugs

Posted on October 06, 2008
Lawyers turn to drink and drugsLawyers are turning to drink and drugs to combat long hours and stress, new research has shown."A survey to be published this week shows that alcohol abuse is commonplace and the use of hard drugs, such as cocaine, is more and more widespread among those in the profession...

Ming to stage leadership come back?

Posted on October 06, 2008
Ming to stage leadership come back?A gathering of Ming's loyal supporters

Pictures of the day: 6 October 2008

Posted on October 06, 2008
Pictures of the day: 6 October 2008A sea lion named Cookie controls a plastic pumpkin during a show at the Shinagawa Aquarium in TokyoPicture: APA polar bear plays with a special ball in a pond at the Budapest Zoo...Picture: EPA...The polar bears received a tooth- and claw-proof ball to mark World Animal DayPicture: EPADogs are taken out by their owners for a parade to mark World Animal Day in Kielce, PolandPicture: EPAA baby elephant and two females walk out of the bush for their annual 'gathering' at the banks of the Minneriya reservoir, in Sri LankaPicture: AFP/GETTY

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