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July 09, 2009
News of the World involved in hacking and bugging public figures
Nick Davies wrote in Flat Earth News about how the UK media have used ethically and legally dubious techniques in order to break stories. While he was criticised at the time, many of his arguments have been vindicated by a shocking story of the News of the World's (and therefore also News International's) involvement in widespread hacking and in accessing confidential information.
These ethically and legally dubious News of the World tactics invaded the privacy of thousands of individuals: including the senior government politician (and then Deputy Prime Minister) John Prescott. This story has been linked to a number of senior figures - including the Conservative Party Press Chief (and former News of the World editor) Andy Coulson.
Members of Parliament and the Metropolitan Police will both be investigating this story. The Guardian is live-blogging this story, for those who would like to follow developments.
Posted by jon_mendel at 02:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 07, 2009
Conservative Party and gay rights: the slow seeping of spirit?
I was pleased to see that - in response to accusations of homophobia - the UK's Conservative Party has responded by emphasising their openness to gay men and women. Whatever one thinks of the Conservative Party, it is interesting that the party which was responsible for homophobic measures such as Section 28 now seems to view homophobia as unattractive.
In his novel take on Hegel, Slavoj Zizek has argued that change may can occur through the 'slow seeping of spirit'. A change - such as the increasing unacceptability of homophobia -seeps slowly through our social reality, without being particularly noticeable at the time. There reaches a point, though, where one looks around and realises - after the change has taken place - what has happened: in this case, it now appears that a more accepting attitude to gay men and women has come to dominate 'mainstream' public political discourse.
I should emphasise that I am not claiming that homophobia is no more. Clearly, homophobia is still a problem; however, it does now seem to have become relatively politically unacceptable. I should also make clear that this 'slow seeping of spirit' would have been enabled by the hard work of large numbers of people: numerous activists, for example. However, the relatively quiet way in which this more open attitude seems to have moved through the political elite - and the sudden public exposure of these changes - does seem to fit the idea of a 'slow seeping of spirit' extremely well.
Posted by jon_mendel at 06:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 02, 2009
MoD confuses mung beans with opium poppy seeds
There was recently a big Ministry of Defence press splash about a seizure of so-called poppy seeds in Afghanistan. However, it turns out that
the soldiers had captured nothing more than a giant pile of mung beans, a staple pulse eaten in curries across Afghanistan.Embarrassed British officials have now admitted that their triumph has turned sour and have promised to return the legal crop to its rightful owner.
Worringly, the Guardian also reports that
The pulses also fooled Colonel General Khodaidad, Afghanistan's minister of counter-narcotics, even though the spherical black beans, about the size of small ball bearings, looked nothing like poppy seeds. When shown the mung beans by the Guardian, he said they were a strain of "super poppy".
The 'war on drugs' is problematic for a whole range of complex reasons, but this type of basic error clearly does not inspire confidence. It is a funny story, of course, but the Guardian article ends by reminding us of some more serious issues:
If indeed the sacks did contain 1.3 tonnes of mung beans, then they would have a street value of $1,300 – not much, but a major blow to any farmer if the British had followed procedures and destroyed the beans.
This type of bizarre decision to confiscate food - in the belief it is actually drug-related seeds - cannot be helpful in winning local support. I hope that - as well as getting their mung beans back - the rightful owner has received a suitable apology, alongside compensation for their trouble.
Posted by jon_mendel at 12:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 01, 2009
Iraqi Sovereignty Day: a poisoned gift?
Iraq has declared June 30 - when US troops withdrew from Iraqi cities - to be a national holiday called Sovereignty Day. Looking at the current situation in Iraq, I'm reminded of Hardt and Negri's remarks on sovereignty in Empire (PDF, p. 134). Looking at the winning of sovereign independence through national liberation struggles, Hardt and Negri argue that
the state is the poisoned gift of national liberation
I hope that this is not applicable to Iraq - and that sovereignty proves to be a genuine gift for Iraqis. However, I find it hard to be optimistic here.
