Random News Stories

[Junkenstein]

I was thinking China, or a number of other places. Like North Korea.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

That's creepy.

[Junkenstein]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21861941

The Evening Standard has apologised after it published details of the Budget online before George Osborne delivered his statement.

The newspaper's front page outlined announcements such as the cancellation of a fuel duty rise and a rise in the personal tax allowance to £10,000.

In 1947 Chancellor Hugh Dalton resigned after leaking details of a Budget to journalists.

So, who leaked to the press?

This caught my interest for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Leveson is still live and being discussed (Though apparently agreed) and this is a prefect example of information moving between Government and press with no accountability. Secondly, I'm assuming the denial mill will start fairly soon. This will be hard to reconcile with the fact that the headlines and reporting was accurate.

It seems clear to me that there are (and likely always will be) inappropriate relations between ministers, press and police. This is quite concerning given the shit Cain threw up about Belgium over the past few days. It's hard to dismiss this as inconsequential when it appears to be a symptom of a larger problem.

[Cain]

The Guardian is already making a play to try and get Osbourne sacked.

It won't fly, though. The cocaine and dominatrix story he got buried due to his friend Andy Coulson never went anywhere, and his piss poor management of the economy also hasn't exactly hurt him. 

[Junkenstein]

I suspect the media will accomplish nothing until the offical stance is set for Leveson.

I further suspect, regardless of the Leveson "deal" that the media will accomplish nothing. Why queer your chances at a future government job?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21856516

The Bolshoi Ballet has been mired in further controversy after a former soloist claimed female dancers were forced to sleep with wealthy patrons.

Anastasia Volochkova accused the theatre's general director of turning the company "into a giant brothel".

Outspoken Volochkova, who has dabbled in TV talent and talk shows, was fired from the Bolshoi in 2003 for being too heavy.

General director Anatoly Iksanov dismissed the claims as "ravings".

Volochkova made the allegations during an interview on a television talk show in Russia on Sunday, later repeating them in a radio interview with Russian News Service.

"It mainly happened with the corps du ballet but also with the soloists," she said.

Probably reading a little too much into it after the Belgian info, but this seems to have more to it.

[Junkenstein]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/9939401/Rules-of-cyberwar-set-out-for-first-time-in-Nato-manual.html

The manual is the first attempt to set out how international law applies to online attacks by the state, and warns that online attacks could lead to full-blown military conflicts.
The handbook, the result of three years collaboration between international experts for Nato's Co-operative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, defines a cyber attack as one that is "reasonably expected to cause injury or death to persons or damage or destruction to objects."
An online attack on an electricity grid resulting in fire is one example of the way that cyberwar could bring about real physical harm.

I'm sure we can all rest easier knowing that these rules will be treated with the same respect given the rules of conventional warfare.

[Junkenstein]

AH
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21869330

AHAHA

Comedian Jim Davidson has been questioned about new allegations of sexual offences as part of a probe related to the Jimmy Savile inquiry.

The 59-year-old was answering bail on Wednesday at a London police station when he was "further arrested on suspicion of sexual offences", said Scotland Yard.

Mr Davidson's solicitor says the comic "vigorously denies" the allegations.

HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Ahem.

I meant, Fuck you Jim Davidson. Fuck YOU.

[Cain]

Is anyone surprised?  Anyone?

[Junkenstein]

I've just booked another couple of tickets for Sadowitz when I'm home.

This is going to be great. I couldn't ask for better timing.

[Junkenstein]

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/03/16/newly-hired-detroit-efm-has-some-financial-issues-of-his-own/

DETROIT (WWJ) – Records show that the new Detroit emergency financial manager, Kevyn Orr, has some unpaid taxes and two liens on his Maryland home.

Orr has apparently not paid $16,000 in unemployment taxes.

Nice going HR.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

WTF, Hugh Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_6ZZVaiWT0

There's already a petition making the rounds http://blog-off.org/

Cain, nobody's listening to this guy, are they? Tell me he's a UK Tom Cruise...

[Cain]

He was hacked by the News of the World, repeatedly.  He made complaints, repeatedly, and nothing was done.  He had to secretly record an interview with a NotW reporter before anyone would even admit there was a phone hacking scandal.

I can understand why he's pissed off about this.  And in the UK, we've tried a lack of regulation for the press, letting them "police themselves".  They decided to break the law and lie repeatedly about doing so.  The government, who are notorious cronies of News International, wanted to create a new "self-policing system", with no legislation to back it up.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Jesus, he looks like shit and he's in favor of censorship.

GOOD GOING, HUGH GRANT.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

They decided to break the law and lie repeatedly about doing so. 

So, if what they're doing is already illegal, that means it IS regulated, by law, right? So maybe there should simply be actual enforcement and penalties to reinforce laws that already appear to exist, considering that the press are breaking them?

[Cain]

They decided to break the law and lie repeatedly about doing so. 

So, if what they're doing is already illegal, that means it IS regulated, by law, right? So maybe there should simply be actual enforcement and penalties to reinforce laws that already appear to exist, considering that the press are breaking them?

Only in the most technical sense.  The phone-hacking is illegal, but the companies are systematically hiring private investigators to phone hack, which apparently is not illegal.  Especially when the private investigators are ex-police officers, often backed up by friendly still serving police officers who either passed on information illegally or else refused to seriously investigate claims against ex police officers.

Furthermore, complaints were made, since 2007, to the Press Complaints Commission, about this kind of behaviour and these policies, and the PCC ignored them all.  Because the PCC is run by the newspapers, who were all doing it.