Random News Stories

[LMNO]

It's been on NPR for over a week, IIRC.  And I think some of the other large US outlets have covered it.  Not with "Missing Jetliner" type energy, but it's being reported on.

What's interesting is everyone posting on facebook about "why isn't this being covered?" and linking to, you know, a news site covering it.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

It's been on NPR for over a week, IIRC.  And I think some of the other large US outlets have covered it.  Not with "Missing Jetliner" type energy, but it's being reported on.

What's interesting is everyone posting on facebook about "why isn't this being covered?" and linking to, you know, a news site covering it.

What's really amazing is that Facebook is basically a generator for the sort of half-ass outrage that makes poor people vote republican.  It's like having The Mirror, only the whole world is writing for it, trying to outdo each other.

Some asshole once said that if you put a million monkeys in front of typewriters, they'd eventually type Shakespeare.

That asshole was wrong.

[Junkenstein]

Oh. Well.

Still, seems like a pretty big fucking deal and Boko Haram have been escalating shit for a while. I'm guessing with people looking at Russia/Ukraine/Syria they figured they could ramp shit up a notch and not really have to worry too much.

Guess they were right. I'm sure terrorists with a successful track record are going to be keen to pack it in and calm down.

That aside, there's an absolute fuckton of things here that just scream bad news further down the line. This shit happened 3 weeks ago and I've only seen that link today. That surprises me quite a bit and I may be focusing on it more as a result but the whole Boko Haram/Nigeria/Oil situation could turn really nasty, really quickly. It's been bubbling for a while and this does seem like a significant step up.

[Junkenstein]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27304228

A government policy that bans books being sent to prisoners in England and Wales may face a legal challenge.

The Ministry of Justice will receive a claim from a female prisoner serving a life sentence, saying she has been left "in despair" by the ban.

The book ban is part a scheme which came into force in November and limits what prisoners can receive in parcels.

But the MoJ says the three-month window for appealing against a new policy has closed so the challenge is too late.

In March, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling defended the policy through an open letter to poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy who led protests against the ban.

Ms Duffy had said the ban hurt the "soul of the country". But the justice secretary insisted it kept prisons free of drugs.

In the letter, Mr Grayling added that he had only specifically made a decision about "the availability of books in prisons" once, and that was to allow the novel Fifty Shades of Grey to be circulated in female prisons, in a bid to encourage reading.

So out of the two decisions this man has taken involving literature and prisons, one involved pushing a mass market bodice ripper and the other is NO BECAUSE DRUGS.

There's something particularly spiteful about removing books from prisoners. Kind of makes the whole reform, education and rehabilitation side of things look like a bit of a joke. Then again, I guess it was always supposed to be.

[minuspace]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27304228

A government policy that bans books being sent to prisoners in England and Wales may face a legal challenge.

The Ministry of Justice will receive a claim from a female prisoner serving a life sentence, saying she has been left "in despair" by the ban.

The book ban is part a scheme which came into force in November and limits what prisoners can receive in parcels.

But the MoJ says the three-month window for appealing against a new policy has closed so the challenge is too late.

In March, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling defended the policy through an open letter to poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy who led protests against the ban.

Ms Duffy had said the ban hurt the "soul of the country". But the justice secretary insisted it kept prisons free of drugs.

In the letter, Mr Grayling added that he had only specifically made a decision about "the availability of books in prisons" once, and that was to allow the novel Fifty Shades of Grey to be circulated in female prisons, in a bid to encourage reading.

So out of the two decisions this man has taken involving literature and prisons, one involved pushing a mass market bodice ripper and the other is NO BECAUSE DRUGS.

There's something particularly spiteful about removing books from prisoners. Kind of makes the whole reform, education and rehabilitation side of things look like a bit of a joke. Then again, I guess it was always supposed to be.

Right.  Just don't give them the tools to understand their situation, and that ignorance will prevent them from formulating an escape.

[Cain]

I love that bit about "earning money" to buy books.

Average prisoner wages in the UK are £4 a week.  For those with jobs.  TV rent is £1 a week.  Those with jobs can afford to buy a book, assuming an average paperback price of £5.99, once every two weeks.  And that will be one of those shitty WHS Smith top 20 books.  Those without jobs get £2.50 a week.  Taking away the TV rent, they can afford a book every month.

[minuspace]

Everything costs something may be an entry to understanding consequence, however the source is still not addressed .

[Junkenstein]

I love that bit about "earning money" to buy books.

Average prisoner wages in the UK are £4 a week.  For those with jobs.  TV rent is £1 a week.  Those with jobs can afford to buy a book, assuming an average paperback price of £5.99, once every two weeks.  And that will be one of those shitty WHS Smith top 20 books.  Those without jobs get £2.50 a week.  Taking away the TV rent, they can afford a book every month.

Needless to say, this also assumes that the prisoner purchases literally nothing else such as tobacco, toiletries or anything else that could be viewed as a luxury item. I get the distinct impression the intent here is to make it impossible to acquire books. Perhaps too many of the wrong kind of books were found in various prisons. The drugs angle I simply don't buy. For a start, it's much easier to find a dissatisfied guard and incentvise them. Or get someone to throw shit over the wall.

[minuspace]

We arm the harm.

[Cain]

I love that bit about "earning money" to buy books.

Average prisoner wages in the UK are £4 a week.  For those with jobs.  TV rent is £1 a week.  Those with jobs can afford to buy a book, assuming an average paperback price of £5.99, once every two weeks.  And that will be one of those shitty WHS Smith top 20 books.  Those without jobs get £2.50 a week.  Taking away the TV rent, they can afford a book every month.

Needless to say, this also assumes that the prisoner purchases literally nothing else such as tobacco, toiletries or anything else that could be viewed as a luxury item. I get the distinct impression the intent here is to make it impossible to acquire books. Perhaps too many of the wrong kind of books were found in various prisons. The drugs angle I simply don't buy. For a start, it's much easier to find a dissatisfied guard and incentvise them. Or get someone to throw shit over the wall.

Of course.

That said, once they've read a page, they can use it as toilet paper or rolling paper for a ciggie.  The Bible has very good paper for that sort of thing...so I'm told.

[Junkenstein]

No, it burns too quickly and tastes fucking terrible. I'm told.

Edit to fix idiot mistake.

[minuspace]

That really depends on the alternatives.  Think about how thin that paper is... Eh-heh.

[Junkenstein]

Strangely plausible files #777291B -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-27321235

Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri secretly worked for MI5, his lawyers have told his US terror trial.

The defence claimed the Egyptian-born preacher, who was giving evidence for the first time in his trial in New York, had been tasked to "keep the streets of London safe".

Abu Hamza denies 11 terrorism charges.

He answered "never" when asked if he had assisted the kidnapping of western tourists in Yemen in 1998 and set up a jihadist training camp in Oregon.

Abu Hamza was jailed in the UK for inciting murder and racial hatred with his sermons at a north London mosque, before being extradited to the US nearly two years ago.

He said he had never helped al-Qaeda or other militant groups.

I doubt any members of MI5 will be kind enough to confirm that this is indeed the case but it seems a very silly defence to raise unless you can show some proof.

The defence wants to introduce as evidence documents from Scotland Yard, which it claims demonstrate how the preacher co-operated with police to calm tensions and to help release hostages.

But the judge has ruled the evidence inadmissible.

So there's shady shit afoot, but I'll be damned if I know exactly what.

[Cain]

This has been known, if denied, for a while now.

Abu Hamza has allegedly had links with the intelligence services in the UK since the Bosnian conflict.  London was a chief stopping off point for mujahideen looking to get in on the action in southern Europe, and the intelligence services - keen to protect the special relationship with America, which was under strain due to UK government inaction in the former Yugoslavia - were more than happy to assist.

Afterwards, Hamza was a useful way of keeping an eye on the more mouthy UK based militant Islamic set.  Many suspect the subsequent rendition to America was due to some kind of falling out with one of the branches of the secret state.

[P3nT4gR4m]

This is the EVIL BABY EATING JIHADIST MONSTER, as portrayed in the Daily Mail, right?

Always kinda wondered what was actually going on there