The Olympics, Ramadan and racism
So, the Olympics has finally started. I had been planning an article last week about the chaos in the preparation for the Games, the security etc., and the traffic disruption that would result from...
Author: Matthew Smith
‘Problem families’: just take them into care?
Last week, a civil servant called Louise Casey published a report identifying 120,000 “problem families” and proposed an intervention scheme whereby social workers would actually sit in people’s houses and make sure they get...
Ex-soldier facing expulsion over 2010 fight
BBC News – Fijian-born soldier Isimeli Baleiwai fights to stay in UK (also at Channel 4 News) Isimeili Baleiwai served in the British army for 13 years, seeing action in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Iraq...
Online bullies’ abuse is censorship, not free speech
Back in the days when Usenet was the main place online for discussion (if not the only), before web forums and blogs had been heard of (or at least, were anything like as sophisticated...
On Freedom of Information, the IRA and the Taliban
For the digital revolution, this is the Robespierre moment | Simon Jenkins | Comment is free | The Guardian Simon Jenkins is arguing that he agrees with Tony Blair who said in 2010 it...
Ann Leslie on how the media foments Islamophobia
Just as I was writing my post about the validity of the term ‘Islamophobia’ yesterday morning, the BBC’s Sunday Morning Live programme were discussing it. A hotline called “Tell MAMA” (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) had...
Islamophobia: when the reality retires, we can retire the term
Obliged to Offend: It’s time to stop using the term ‘islamophobia’ (reproduced at Harry’s Place) Back when I was at college, a feminist lecturer had a sticker on her door: “I’ll be a post-feminist...
Netroots 2012: a review
I found out about Netroots 2012 through a tweet by Sue Marsh, one of the main authors of the Spartacus Report, earlier in the week and decided to go, more or less on the...
Niqab ban reflects Islamophobia and a security-obsessed culture
Lessons in Islamophobia (from CounterFire) This is an article about a Muslim mother who was barred from parents’ evening at her son’s school because the staff insisted on her removing her face-covering for “security”...
Blair blocked truth about Iraq from cabinet
Blair blocked Cabinet from hearing legal advice on Iraq – UK Politics – UK – The Independent The recently published diaries of Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former “spin doctor” who had been at his...
Ukraine: BBC exposes abuse of disabled and slave labour
BBC iPlayer: Ukraine’s Forgotten Children (viewable in UK only until 28th June); more here Last night (Monday), the BBC broadcast a 90-minute exposé on the state of care for orphans and disabled people in...
HS2 will destroy beauty, not deliver it
Where are the new airports and railways we so desperately need? | Will Hutton | Comment is free | The Observer This article by Will Hutton appeared in today’s Observer, arguing in favour of...
Ayn van Dyk: one year on
For my previous writings on Ayn’s case, see these two entries from September and December 2011. There is also a Facebook group to support Ayn’s parents in getting their daughter out of care. A...
“Middle lane hoggers” and other driving stupidity
Yesterday morning, Vanessa Feltz dedicated much of her talk show (BBC London, 94.9FM, 9am-noon) to the supposed news that people who drive for long distances in the middle lane on the motorways (rather than...
New immigration rules: targeted at Asians, again
Stark choice under new immigration rules: exile or family breakup | UK news | The Guardian After the fiasco of the raised age limit for non-EU spouses (it was set at 21, ostensibly to...
ME suicide “triggered by benefits form”
Why I let my husband die | Life and style | The Guardian This article is an interview with Jill Anderson, whose husband Paul killed himself in 2005 (on his fourth attempt). He had...
The Jubilee and British values
The last four days, the UK has seen a whole lot of events related to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (marking 60 years on the throne) and these included a flotilla on the Thames through...
RadFem 2012, “male privilege” and censorship
Yesterday it was announced that a radical feminist conference that was to be held at Conway Hall in London has had to find another venue after an online campaign led to the venue’s owners...
We must do away with the “ignore and it’ll go away” myth
Catcalls, whistles, groping: the everyday picture of sexual harassment in London (from the Independent) Yesterday (Friday) it was reported in the Independent newspaper in London, and discussed on the Vanessa Feltz show on BBC...
Windows 8: tablet as desktop coming to a desk near you
I’ve been noticing various articles about the impending Windows 8 release on OSNews appear recently, and it doesn’t look good. I’ve been using Linux a lot since about 2002, and one of the worst...