Snooper’s Charter deemed unlawful

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Image of GCHQ donught building. Doesn't look like a doughnut. Look. Oh c'mon, can't you see - open your eye.

http://metro.co.uk/2018/01/30/court-appeal-rules-snoopers-charter-unlawful-7273823/

The Government’s so-called ‘Snoopers’ Charter’ is unlawful in its current form, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour Party, challenged the law that he said was ‘flawed from the start’.

The law – officially known as the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) – gave the government wider-ranging powers of surveillance than previous legislation – including access to personal data such as internet and phone records, even when there was no suspicion of criminal activity or no proper oversight.

Officials claimed these broad powers were vital to protect the public from criminals, including paedophiles and terrorism.

However, critics argued that it granted police and spies some of the western world’s most extensive snooping capabilites.

‘This legislation was flawed from the start,’ Watson said in a statement. ‘The government must now bring forward changes to the Investigatory Powers Act to ensure that hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are innocent victims or witnesses to crime, are protected by a system of independent approval for access to communications data.’

Continue ReadingSnooper’s Charter deemed unlawful

Sunday comment

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John McDonnell spoke at the gathering of the global elite known as the World Economic Forum at Davos. It’s no surprise that he was there, he’s expected to be UK’s next Chancellor with an agenda that is Socialist instead of the usual pro-Capitalist.

The privatisation of our public services has been national failure- it’s time to take back control

Labour vows to nationalise railways, water, energy and Royal Mail ‘We’re taking them back’, vows Shadow Chancellor

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/26/john-mcdonnell-davos-uk-business-wef-voters

The shadow chancellor said he came in order to tell a few home truths on the “avalanche of discontent and resentment out there”.

“Why did I come? Firstly, I got an invitation and I thought this was the time to check just what the discussions were, what the assessments being made by individuals were and what the feelings were about the future. Secondly, to deliver a message that people need to look at things like the result of Brexit and address the issues that caused it,” he said.

“Davos is what I expected. It embodies the criticisms I have made of it in the past. I don’t think the people here have any comprehension of the contempt in which they are held.”

McDonnell said the corporations represented at Davos had been getting away with “industrial-scale tax avoidance” while ordinary people struggled. “They just don’t get it. It’s the system and it needs to be changed,” he said. He said the big auditing companies should have the equivalent of a doctor’s Hippocratic oath so that they did not encourage firms to avoid tax.

“Ten years after the crash, after 10 years of austerity and 10 years of paying their taxes and seeing public services cut, people have had enough.”

Looks like he’s simply telling it like it is.

Theresa May has a long history of attacking online privacy and censoring the internet. It’s usually about so-called extremist content or terrorism with them being conflated.

It’s a little different this time – along with Brazil and Macron’s France, May is seeking to censor so-called “fake news”. I was surprised at this one – ‘fake news’ is the rock-like polymath genius-in-chief’s wonderfully genius method of dismissing competing narratives. The Colossal Intellect simply dismisses irritating truths and anything that would portray His vast intellect’s policies or behaviour in a poor light as fake news. Surely people recognise Rigid Deep Thought’s simple rejection of any criticism as fake news is a transparent – though brilliant of course as He is – simple I’m not going to talk about that because it makes me look stupid ploy. It’s a We’ll just ignore that because it’s not worth bothering my Vast Intellect with sort-of-thing.

It can’t be about anything other than censorship and by calling it fake news they’re being totally transparent about it. The government proposes to decide for you which competing narratives you have access to in the style of Trump. What’s not censorship about that? We already have huge censorship thanks to NeoCon scum like May. I think that the way it works is that Tech Giants get to avoid vast amounts in tax if they support the government.

Competing narratives from alternative media from particularly Socialist websites like World Socialist Website and even David Icke are getting hit hard. I’m not keen on David Icke but he has a right to be heard. Then there are Holocaust Deniers who actually don’t normally deny the holocaust and instead mostly argue that it’s scale is exaggerated. They have a right to be heard.

I’m hoping to post more often. Environmental Health later

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Continue ReadingSunday comment

Coming soon

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I need to start writing again. I seem to have lost the muse when I stopped drinking. I’ll try to publish something tomorrow about the Trumpification of UK politics with the establishment of a fake-news censorship unit and John McDonnell’s visit to Davos. I’ll also write a little about local council’s Environmental Health function being to excuse negligent landlords.

Continue ReadingComing soon

I’m likely to tell a First-Tier Tribunal to FO, you’re full of siht

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I’ll have to be politer than that of course but I’ll make sure that I convey that meaning.

I have an appeal soon at a First-Tier Tribunal (which is normally public btw). There is secret medical evidence that is withheld from me ‘for my own good’. On my request for a mandatory reconsideration I said I suffer from this and that. This and that is the secret medical evidence that is censored and not to be mentioned. The Tribunal will consider it, the DWP have used it in reaching their decision but I don’t even have access to the [ed: real] decision I am supposed to be appealing against!

The WCA handbook discusses so-called ‘Harmful Information’ at section 4.2.1.

This is information which has not been disclosed to the claimant by their medical attendant, and of which they are unaware. It is information which would be considered as seriously harmful to their health if divulged to them and is the only type of information which under the regulations may be withheld from the claimant in the event of a review or appeal. [Highlighted in bold in the original)

Section 4.2.1 continues to describe how to recognise ‘Harmful Information’ omitted from reports by leaving a gap followed by a ‘harmless synonym’. So, look out for gaps and harmless synonyms in those WCA reports because they mean that there’s secret evidence withheld from the claimant.

Hold on a minute, I said in my request for mandatory reconsideration that I suffer from this and that. In what sense am I not aware of it? And if I already know, how can it be harmful for me to know about it? I know it’s this and that because this and that is noticeably absent from all the papers. I say I suffer from this and that. I am denied addressing DWP’s response because it’s censored.

The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Social Entitlement Chamber) Rules 2008

ed: 14

(2) The Tribunal may give a direction prohibiting the disclosure of a document or information to a person if—

(a)the Tribunal is satisfied that such disclosure would be likely to cause that person or some other person serious harm; and

(b)the Tribunal is satisfied, having regard to the interests of justice, that it is proportionate to give such a direction.

(4) The Tribunal must conduct proceedings as appropriate in order to give effect to a direction given under paragraph (2).

So the Tribunal is satisfied that it is proportionate to withhold evidence that does not meet the criteria for harmful information and therefore should not be withheld at appeal. I wonder what it says. I’m not taking part in that bullshit

31/1/18 Adjourned. The tribunal only looks at the papers immediately before the appeal.

27/4/18 The first tier tribunal has lied to me. The adjournment was apparently (but not actually) to get medical records. I was told that I would get the same disclosure as the Tribunal. I’ve got the same censored shit.

I’m likely to refuse to participate any further because of the allegations secretly made against me while purporting to be potentially harmful medical information. It’s nasty secret shit because people are so hostile and prejudged agaist me. It feels like a sly trap.

 

 

Continue ReadingI’m likely to tell a First-Tier Tribunal to FO, you’re full of siht