25 Nov 2009 | Uncategorized
How strange to come away from an inquiry into policing feeling impressed and even a little touched.
But the report, by Denis O’Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary, into the past, present and future of public order policing, is such an exceptional piece of work that it deserves all the plaudits it will surely get. O’Connor goes at his huge task with real vigour, attacking it enthusiastically from all sides, and never hesitating to criticise the police when he feels that officers have made mistakes.
O’Connor has a very clear vision of the police force he wants to lead; it is a modern police force, making use of modern tools, but still adhering closely to the original ideals of Robert Peel that policing should be “approachable, impartial, accountable… based on minimal force and anchored in public consent”.
(more…)
25 Nov 2009 | Uncategorized
Mysterious. Just as the news leads with Google not taking down a picture of Michelle Obama, doctored to give her monkey features, it seems the image no longer comes up in a Google image search — at least from this central London desktop.
Google had earlier taken to buying its own Google ads, leading to this message:
Sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries. We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google.
Search engines are a reflection of the content and information that is available on the Internet. A site’s ranking in Google’s search results relies heavily on computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page’s relevance to a given query.
The beliefs and preferences of those who work at Google, as well as the opinions of the general public, do not determine or impact our search results. Individual citizens and public interest groups do periodically urge us to remove particular links or otherwise adjust search results. Although Google reserves the right to address such requests individually, Google views the integrity of our search results as an extremely important priority. Accordingly, we do not remove a page from our search results simply because its content is unpopular or because we receive complaints concerning it. We will, however, remove pages from our results if we believe the page (or its site) violates our Webmaster Guidelines, if we believe we are required to do so by law, or at the request of the webmaster who is responsible for the page.
We apologize if you’ve had an upsetting experience using Google. We hope you understand our position regarding offensive results.
Sincerely,
The Google Team
One has to say, Google has probably done the best it can under the circumstances. It would be wrong to attempt to remove or relegate the content, as Google does not own it, but as a private company, they have a right to distance themselves from it.
25 Nov 2009 | Uncategorized
Miguel Angel Carmona, a Mexican photojournalist and director of the Fotovista agency, was physically and verbally assaulted by the Secretary of Government of Veracruz, Reynaldo Escobar Pérez, on 20 November, during a commemoration of the Mexican Revolution at the Government Palace in Xalapa, Veracruz (Gulf of Mexico).
According to local media, Escobar Pérez threw a punch at the reporter, shouting: “What have you got against me? Tell me who pays you for attack me.”
Reynaldo Escobar Pérez clearly takes his role as chair of the Veracruz Commission for the Defense of Journalists very seriously indeed.
25 Nov 2009 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
A bill has been passed in the Maldives parliament that abolishes five articles from the Penal Code that provided for criminal defamation.
Read more here
