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We Need To Talk About the Police 5: Women

Articles, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Nov 142014

“They didn’t value my mum’s life and they certainly didn’t value my sister’s life. Ultimately, they’re dead. I will never, ever heal. Ever.”
– Stacey Banner to the BBC, on murders committed by John Lowe. Police returned guns to him despite his threat to ‘blow off’ Stacey Banner’s head.

The police certainly have problems. Previous articles in this series have looked at the issues of institutionalised racism, guns and how our rights are being chipped away, little by little. With all the powers of surveillance at their disposal, police surely are able to determine when people are in potential danger. How are the 21st century UK police treating women? Suzanne Kelly reports.

Christine Lee and her daughter Lucy are dead. Like so many murdered women, they knew their killer. It was 82-year-old puppy farmer John Lowe, who was husband and stepfather to them.

Surrey Police had confiscated guns from 82-year-old John Lowe when he threatened to kill his stepdaughter and his wife.

The guns were returned some eight weeks later. The women are dead. The police are sorry.

There will be the usual inquiry; the usual wrists have been slapped. The women could still be alive, like so many other women who turn to the police, only to be let down again and again.

Domestic Violence:

Women who come forward to report abuse, or the threat of violence, are still being dismissed by the police. The old, outdated notion of dismissing marital violence as ‘just a domestic’ seems to be alive and well, as the murders committed by John Lowe attest.

The police launched a visible offensive against domestic abusers in February this year. One has to hope that the partners were warned in advance; but if so, surely that would have caused anxiety. If the victims of abuse were not warned in advance of their partner’s arrests, the consequences could be very serious: in domestic abuse the pattern is to blame the wife/partner for everything that goes wrong.

One can only hope the women were and are being given all the help and support they need. Otherwise, this particular exercise seems like a headline grabber with potentially lethal consequences.

Sexual Assault and Rape:

One in five women aged 16-59 has experienced some form of sexual violence since the age of 16 according to Rape Crisis.

This is a statistic which should shock the government and police into action. Victims of rape and other violence are often afraid to come forward, and the way they are sometimes treated when they do leaves much to be desired.

In a famous interview Ken Clark in 2011 spoke with an extremely brave woman who reported an attempted rape, endured examinations, court battles, hours spent with police and legal teams. Her attacker, a repeat offender, spent about a year and a half in custody.

More recently, UKIP member and donor Demetri Marchessini said women cannot be raped by their husbands.

It’s sometimes hard to believe that it’s 2014 when we look at how rape victims are treated. The news last week carried the story of Eleanor de Frietas. This vulnerable woman went to the police with a tale of being drug raped. What happened subsequently led to her suicide.

The police had no grounds for thinking she was lying, but when the alleged rapist took her to court in a private action for £200,000, the Crown Prosecution Service decided to go after her as well. Unable to stand the ordeal, she took her own life.

When the Police are the Perpetrators:

Women are being abused by serving officers. An online resource lists various police officers in the UK and the vast array of charges levelled against them, which include rape, sex with a vulnerable woman, and child abuse.

Then there is the case of Ryan Reid, 27, a special constable who used his position to illegally search police files for information about women he was veritably stalking; he sent naked photos and sexual messages to half a dozen women. According to the Daily Mail:

“Reid, of Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, who was stationed at Carluke Police Office, pleaded guilty to seven charges involving five women … one of his victims was just 15 when he began contacting her…. He admitted two charges of stalking women, three under the Communications Act and one under the Sexual Offenses Act…he also pleaded guilty to an offence under the Data Protection Act that he did ‘knowingly or recklessly and without the consent of the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland obtain and disclose personal data by repeatedly accessing various police systems with no operational reason for doing so.’”

Reid apparently made a social media comment that when men in the forces drop their trousers they are in trouble, when women do so, it is promotion. Is sexism as rife as racism is within the forces? Is this case the tip of the iceberg, indicating institutionalised misogyny? You could be forgiven for thinking so.

This may well explain the number of women who, despite making numerous pleas to the police, are attacked, sometimes fatally, by persistent stalkers. Three years ago a Guardian article pointed out the dismal failure of the police and courts to protect vulnerable women:

“Two-thirds of victims said the police and Crown Prosecution Service did not take their complaints seriously enough, with offenders not being charged in nearly nine out of ten alleged cases.

“The survey of 140 victims was conducted by the charity Protection Against Stalking (PAS), which found “low level” stalking offences were dealt with too leniently and could escalate into more serious offences, including murder.

“The majority of victims are women. One told how the criminal justice system had failed her:

“The police told me to switch my phone off and ignore him. They said nothing could be done. I showed them dozens of texts and they were not really interested. They said nothing could be done unless he actually tried to hurt me.”

“Another victim said:

“Being abandoned by the police while being stalked only adds to the fear and distress of what is already a terrifying situation.””
http://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/nov/13/stalking-not-taken-seriously

Ryan Reid may have been found guilty of data access and sexual crimes. But what can a Police Scotland officer expect if accused of illegally accessing data on an ex-partner? As reported in the Evening Express, Police Scotland’s DC Duthie has astonishingly been cleared of any wrong doing when his ex’s personal data was accessed by someone within the police.

“DC Duthie, whose address was given in court papers as care of Police Scotland [note – I doubt a member of the public would be allowed to give their work address to the court – SK], had denied accessing the secure information himself.

“He accepted that the files were viewed on February 27 and April 2, 2012 using his unique username and password but said someone else must have used a computer he was logged on to. But today he was found not guilty of the charges.”

Who else would have wanted to look at the data in question? If someone other than Duthie had an interest in this matter, how did they manage to get Duthie’s personal login information? Why hasn’t the person who accessed this information come forward? Have the police identified who it was, and if so, why is no prosecution forthcoming?

This may seem like a case of one man snooping into his ex-partner’s affairs without due cause. What the court decision has done however has set an extremely dangerous precedent: police officers can now access any data they want, and claim that the unique password and login must have been used by an unknown police operative, who will not be sought.

This tiny decision gives the police legal sanction to do whatever they want with our data. It may have passed unnoticed by the mainstream news, but this is a potentially dangerous legal precedent.

WPCs:

It should be noted that women don’t always fare well inside the police forces, either. Unequal pay, discrimination and sexual harassment are all realities. The Scotsman reported in April this year that women in the force are not getting equal promotion opportunities.

Being a domestic abuser is not a barrier to re-joining the force, either.

However, there are a growing number of women in the force. Perhaps positive, real change is within reach.

But as a Guardian investigation found, there is sexism and bias against women making claims of sexual assault against police officers.

Summing up:

Women are being ignored at best, and attacked at worst, by the people paid to protect them. Rape victims are victimised, domestic violence is often downplayed, and stalking victims are routinely brushed off. The recent cases mentioned are only the tip of the iceberg, and the kinds of problems women face also include trafficking and forced marriage, among other issues.

No doubt there will be some kind of investigations into the senseless deaths of Christine and Lucy Lee, and the farcical CPS attack on Eleanor de Frietas which led to her suicide, as her note indicated.

But the system has gone down these routes before without reforming, and reform is possibly farther away than ever before. Change is long overdue, but with comments like those coming from UKIP donor Marchessini, that a husband can’t be guilty of raping his wife, coupled with the scale of abuse either ignored by or perpetrated by the UK’s police forces, it’s hard to see things improving any time soon.

If the situation for grown women is brutal, then it is a far worse reality for children dependent on the state for protection. The next piece in this series will look at issues such as Rotherham, child abuse and how the state and in particular the police, are involved in the neglect and sometimes abuse of children.

Support Services:

Samaritans Aberdeen

60 Dee Street Aberdeen AB11 6DS
Tel: 01224 574488
Email: jo@samaritans.org
Usual hours open to receive callers at the door: 9am – 10pm

Rape and Abuse Support

88 John Street Aberdeen, AB25 1LE
Office Tel: 01224 639 347
Helpline: 01224 620 772
Email: info@rasane.org.uk
Web: www.rasane.org.uk

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[Aberdeen Voice accepts and welcomes contributions from all sides/angles pertaining to any issue. Views and opinions expressed in any article are entirely those of the writer/contributor, and inclusion in our publication does not constitute support or endorsement of these by Aberdeen Voice as an organisation or any of its team members.]

Locals To Protest Use Of Wild Animals In Circuses 16.11.14

Aberdeenshire, Featured, News No Responses »

Nov 142014

With thanks to Christina Elliott.

Photo Credit the bridge 2 - Creative Commons

Lions and tigers from Chipperfield’s circus are being over wintered in the Northeast of Scotland. Photo Credit: The Bridge – Creative Commons

Local people concerned for the welfare of lions and tigers from Chipperfield’s circus being over wintered at the circus high school are holding a demonstration to protest the use of all wild animals in circuses.

The protestors wish to send a message to Holyrood and to circuses that confining and exploiting wild animals for entertainment is not acceptable to the British public in the 21st century and that any further delay in prohibiting such acts is unacceptable.

The demonstration against the use of all wild animals in circuses is due to take place on Sunday Nov 16, 11.30am – 3pm at the Circus High School, Cairnglass Croft, Inverallochy, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire. AB43 8UT.

28 countries around the world now have national restrictions in place and yet Scotland and the rest of the UK are still debating the issue.

Earlier this year the Scottish Government undertook a public consultation on the issue but a response to its outcome has been delayed until the new year.

ADI (Animal Defenders International) President Jan Creamer commented:

“ADI applauds efforts by Kevin Stewart MSP to ban circuses from using wild animals in Scotland. Without action from government, the arrival of big cats in Aberdeenshire could be the first of many, making Scotland a destination for circus suffering that it has not been for years. We can’t let that happen.”

Further information on animals in circuses can be found here: http://www.ad-international.org/animals_in_entertainment/go.php?id=249&ssi=10

A video, filmed at the Circus High School by Victor Beattie, showing characteristic ‘pacing’ behaviour associated with animals living in cramped, stressful or unnatural conditions can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152896934243092

Demonstration against the use of all wild animals in circuses.

Sunday 16th. November 2014, 11.30am – 3pm

Circus High School,
Cairnglass Croft,
Inverallochy,
Fraserburgh,
Aberdeenshire.
AB43 8UT.

Contacts:

Kevin Stewart MSP
Tel: 0131 348 6382
Email:Kevin.Stewart.msp@scottish.parliament.uk

FYI: MOTION NO: S4M-11344

Contact for protestors:

Christina Elliott 07415663890

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Willows Animal Sanctuary Halloween Event – 01.11.14

Aberdeenshire, Information No Responses »

Oct 312014

With thanks to Suzanne Kelly.

Come and meet our stunning European Eagle Owls named Hedwig and Errol at our special Halloween event on the 1st of November, 11.30 am till 3.30pm. We will be holding a spooky treasure hunt, raffle and tombola. There will be free entry to the visitor attraction for all children in fancy dress!

The events run from 11:30 am through 4:30pm; they include:-

Live music,
Bottle Stall,
Tombola,
Plant sale,
Lucky ducks,
Gift shop,
Coffee Shop,
Raffle,
and Home-bakes.

Willows Animal Sanctuary, Lambhill Farm, Strichen, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire AB43 6NY

Reg. Charity No. SCO29625

Tel. 01771 653112
www.willowsanimals.com
email kate@willowsanimals.com

We Need To Talk About The Police 4 – Gun Stun

Articles, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Oct 172014

In Part 4 of the series on issues with UK policing, Suzanne Kelly looks at the recent decision taken by Police Scotland to award itself the power to have armed personnel on duty as a matter of routine. The use of stun guns / tasers is said to be an effective, safe alternative – but is it? Do we really need to start arming police in Scotland routinely? We and our elected officials should have been asked, not told.

Under The Gun

Perhaps the most controversial issue in Scottish policing today was the unilateral, non-legislative supported police decisions to award themselves the power to routinely carry firearms on routine patrols.

Local councillors and other elected representatives were dismayed throughout Scotland; Kenny MacAskill is being asked to resign (over several issues including this
one).

Highlands Police were showing up to incidents in low crime areas equipped to maim or to kill. A suggestion was made that the guns should be made ‘less visible’ – hardly a suggestion that respects the rights (or intelligence) of the electorate which is demonstrably against routine armed patrols.

The police had implemented this escalation instead of asking for permission to do so. They were instead attempting to reassure officials, judges, experts and Holyrood that all was well.

This unilateral action is on a par with the clearly illegal activities of those men deep undercover who slept with and impregnated women they were spying on as per the previous article in this series. This disregard for law, procedure and basic human rights shows us how badly skewed the system is. Thankfully, the gun policy has been changed. There are calls for MacAskill to stand down.

In August, Lord McCluskey, one of Scotland’s most senior former judges, called for the resignation of Mr MacAskill over a range of issues including the routine arming of officers.

He described the policy change by Sir Stephen as an example of “secretive decision-making”, and said Mr MacAskill knew about the move but did not share the information or hold a public consultation.

“In the US, we have seen the dangers of police with guns: put simply, if police have guns, there is a greater risk of someone being shot, unintentionally or otherwise.”
– http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Police-Scotland-arming-of-officers

We do know from recent polls that the public did not want regular armed police on the beat. A recent Scotsman article reports:-

“The nature of policing in this country is very important, and there is a danger that would change if we routinely equipped officers with firearms. We showed during the G8 (summit) how important it is that we don’t come out heavily armed taking a heavily defensive position” – Peter Wilson, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland”
– http://www.scotsman.com/scottish-police-do-not-need-guns-1-1110360

Police are still carrying handguns to serious crimes; many are carrying ‘taser’ type weapons as well. A taser surely must offer safety to the suspect and the police; it can be fired from a distance, and causes no lasting effects – or so we are told.

What is a taser?

A taser is a machine that delivers in the area of 5000 volts into a human body, causing temporary neurological incapacity. Tasers are for sale in the United States, where they come in a range of colours (yes really). One manufacturer/seller offers a video showing the superiority of the taser over other weapons or gas. In the video, a man is meant to be being shot by a taser.

Barbs shoot from the hand-held device into the man’s body, and he falls backwards, caught by colleagues. And all for upward of about $900. Surely this is a safe alternative to guns?

Taser dangers

We have been told that tasers are harmless, won’t cause cardiac problems, and are just temporarily debilitating. We are still being told this is the case, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

A Guardian article warns that tasers fired at the chest can cause injury – and death. The article quotes the manufacturer’s guidance which says shooting into the chest can cause serious problems, and that a huge proportion of police taser shots are to the chest. This article followed the death in Manchester of Jordan Begley who was said to be carrying a knife. Apparently the cause of death of this young man could not be established. What is established is that he was tasered.

Tasers simply are not safe. They are not being used as the manufacturer recommends; and if any deaths are related to their use at all, a re-think is needed. They are also not being used lawfully in some instances.

Stunning

Here is a West Midlands Police video showing ‘how tasers keep our communities safe’. It explains how the police and public are safer with taser deployment. In a simulation, a (badly acted) drunk is tasered, and seconds later says he will do whatever the police say.

Supposedly this acquiescence is reassuring; it is also very frightening. If the police can inflict a brief torture – and this is an extremely painful weapon even if briefly so – and it makes people compliant, then what safeguard of rights will we have left? The video explains that a taser is used ‘only in situations of violence or threats of violence.’ A taser will not damage a pacemaker or the heart. We are also reassured that officers are intensively and rigorously trained.

They say that everything that happens in the US comes to the UK ten years later. Here is a video of a man being tasered – for a disputed driving offence – and ‘not obeying the traffic policeman’s instructions’. It is believed the man was later awarded a settlement. It is harrowing. The man asks for his rights and is threatened with another taser shot.

As well as demonstrating that tasering is painful and being used as a means for social control, it demonstrates the mental state of the people we are handing dangerous weapons – tasers and uniforms – to.

Perhaps not all UK police forces are as responsible and rigorous as the West Midlands Police claim to be. Here is a video clearly showing Nottingham police repeatedly tasering a man on the ground, and beating him.

Parting Shots

Peelian Principles (named after Sir Robert Peel, the originator of the UK’s police forces) have been virtually overlooked when it came to this recent arms escalation. Theoretically, the police cannot work without the mandate of the citizenry. But they are doing just that, as well as breaking laws, subverting human rights, and discriminating, as previous articles in this series have demonstrated.

Thankfully there was a climb down with regard to regular arming of routine police, and those responsible are being called to account (although whether any sanctions will be issued is another matter).

Perhaps rather than creating an arms race and/or using the threat of painful tasering torture to subjugate, the police might instead want to listen to experts who admit there are dangers, and take tasering-related deaths as a reason to treat tasering more seriously, and to halt repeated tasering as happened in Nottingham.

Increased gun crime is evident in England and Wales, where gang warfare is implicated in this increase. The culture in Scotland is different, and if the police used their investigative powers not to spy on and sleep with women environmentalist protestors but to try and counter gun proliferation, perhaps that might be a more constructive use of undercover operatives.

Among the many problems with weapons are lethal results, weapons being taken from civilians or officers and used against them, attempts at the use of weapons enraging suspects, and the fact that there will always be those who panic and pull the trigger first, and ask questions later. Or rather than asking questions, seek to cover up information about force incorrectly used.

Sadly, the family of Charles de Menezes, shot on a London tube train for no legal reason, can attest to the truth of this.

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Willows Animal Sanctuary Open Day Saturday 5 July

Aberdeenshire, Featured, Information No Responses »

Jul 042014

This Saturday offers two great opportunities for animal lovers to enjoy an entertaining day out and help support animal welfare charities into the bargain. With thanks to Suzanne Kelly.

Willows Animal Sanctuary invites you, your friends and family to its next Open Day. Willows in Strichen will hold its gala day this Saturday 5th July.

Come join the staff, farm, domestic, exotic and wild animals living at Willows.

There will be loads to do and see, and animals to meet.

All are welcome to come see the animals, meet the staff, and join in the festivities.

The events run from 11:30 am through 4:30pm; they include:

Live music,
Bottle Stall,
Tombola,
Plant sale,
Lucky ducks,
Gift shop,
Coffee Shop,
Raffle,
and Home-bakes.

Jenny Gray of Willows said:-

“We are hoping this will become a popular annual event to raise money for our winter feed.”

Costs for everyone are spiralling upwards, and animal sanctuaries such as Willows must bear the brunt of price increases. They are reliant on donors to keep going.

A new foal, Fern will be one of the stars of the show. Other new additions include a blind lamb and a racehorse.

Willows were approached by a caring lady who lives near Glasgow and asked to help with a blind lamb whose mother died giving birth to her. Willows were able to give her sanctuary here and also to accept another orphan lamb to become her sighted companion. The blind lamb has been checked by a vet and given the all clear. Both lambs have settled in well and are very popular with visitors.

Chief is an ex racehorse who arrived in early March 2014. His owner was desperate to find him a safe home as he had lost his companions one by one as they be-came old and unwell and these losses were making him extremely stressed. He is an absolutely lovely boy who was totally relaxed about being relocated to Willows.

Somehow the new arrivals sense the peaceful atmosphere at Willows Animal Sanctuary and quickly appear as if they have been resident for years!

Also on Saturday, Redwing Riding School will hold its annual show at Blaikewell Farm.

Click to Enlarge.

Redwing Riding school was opened in 1985 to pay for the maintenance of the growing animal population at Blaikiewell Animal Sanctuary. Blaikewell is a small charity in Deeside, Aberdeenshire, providing a home to over 60 horses and ponies, two Jersey cows, and six pigs as well as cats, dogs and any other animal or bird that needs a safe place.
Redwing Riding School has always been conducted with the welfare of the horses and ponies firmly in first place

There will be prizes for horse and rider in many different events, and a raffle to raise funds for the school and Blaikiewell’s. Anyone wishing to help support the animals at Blaikewell can make a donation via this link.

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Charity Celebrates Outstanding Contribution Of Volunteer

Aberdeen City, Featured No Responses »

May 302014

Shannon Milne, Volunteer Co-ordinator awarding the Saltire Award ( for 50 and 100 hours volunteering ) and Summit Award recognising outstanding contribution as a volunteer to Francesca Falcone.

With thanks to Kathryn Russell.

An Aberdeen student has been recognised for the time she has contributed to volunteering, as well as receiving a further award recognising her outstanding contribution as a volunteer.

Francesca Falcone has achieved Saltire Awards for 50 and 100 hours of volunteering as a Volunteer Support Worker with local charity RAS (Rape and Abuse Support).

RAS provides support for survivors of rape, sexual abuse or sexual exploitation, as well as working within the community to develop awareness of these and surrounding issues.

Ms Falcone started the sixty hours of training with RAS in 2012, completing it in spring 2013 after passing the assessment, and began volunteering with RAS providing telephone support on the helpline, and also working one-to-one with survivors of sexual violence.

Chair of RAS, Kathryn Russell praised the commitment of the Aberdeen student saying:

“We are delighted that Francesca’s commitment to volunteering has been recognised in this way. It is not only a fantastic achievement in terms of the hours she has committed to providing vital support to the users of our service but we are also pleased that Francesca has been recognised for her outstanding contribution to RAS by being awarded the Summit Award, which is peer assessed by a panel of Saltire Ambassadors who decide who merits the Award.”

Volunteer Co-ordinator Shannon Milne added:

“At RAS, we have a strong volunteer program offering a range of opportunities for anyone to join our team of fantastic volunteers. If anyone is interested in volunteering, I would encourage them to get in touch for more information.”

RAS can be contacted for details on volunteering at info@rasane.org.uk.

Ms Falcone has also completed her Social Work degree at RGU, and her dissertation was entitled: ‘Surviving? An exploration of the impact of rape and barriers for survivors in disclosing to professional services‘.

Ms Falcone expects to continue volunteering with people who have experienced sexual violence, as well as developing a career in social work.

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Anthropomorphism And Murder Most Foul

Articles, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 142014

The killing of mammals is unacceptable to many people and the debate took a new turn last week with the shooting of Marius after a last supper of his favourite rye bread. By Duncan Harley.

Denmark is not getting a great press these days. First there was the furore over the so called “Denmark dolphin slaughter” which filled social media with images of blood soaked seas and led to huge numbers of appalled and disgusted folk commenting on the shocking images before passing them on to others who in their turn also passed them on, often without either further investigation or question.

This week there is widespread indignation about the treatment of a giraffe called Marius who was shot before being fed to the lions in a Copenhagen zoo.

The story was flashed round the world via social media before being picked up by the mainstream media. Note the time frame here, social media first, then mainstream media. Citizen journalism often now leads the pack. The Arab Spring and the killing of Drummer Rigby are prime examples of the new news media.

The ultimate victim however may be truth itself as unverified news stories circle the globe.

The Guardian’s headline “Some rye bread – then a bullet in the head” was one of the more restrained mainstream Marius pieces and pointed out that the dissection of the animal following his last meal was just one of a series of such events held at the zoo. Seemingly the zoo’s programme of public dissection has in the past included snakes, zebras and goats.

Zoo scientific director Bengt Holst defended accusations of animal cruelty by saying “It is important that we explain to people why we do it.” He continued “People are fascinated by it, it helps increase the knowledge about animals.”

Calls to resign and death threats followed the director’s no doubt well intentioned comments, leading some to wonder if sanity in zoo land could ever return.

The truth of the matter may be somewhat complex however.

In the case of the so called “Denmark dolphin slaughter”, the Danes may be being unfairly vilified since the killings take place some 814 miles from the Danish capital of Copenhagen and in an automonous self governing island community situated in the Norwegian Sea midway between the UK, Iceland and Norway.

Furthermore, some sources suggest that the ‘dolphins’ in question may not actually be dolphins at all but a species of long finned pilot whale.

The hunt is known as the grindadráp and is a centuries old tradition carried out in the Faroe Islands, an island nation overwhelmingly dependent on what the sea can provide. Designed to produce a sustainable and annual harvest, the grindadráp is indeed gruesome however islanders are quick to point out that the hunt is not done for any commercial gain, with the meat being solely distributed amongst the local community.

A Faroese islander living in Aberdeen commented that the old and the poor receive most of this harvest.

“The Faroese are a very close community” she said

“we take very good care to ensure that everyone gets a share”

“Nothing is wasted, what is not used immediately is frozen for the winter season.”

With a population of just over 21,000 people the Faroe islanders claim that they rely on the sea harvest to supplement a meagre land based agricultural system. With an estimated 0.1% of the global population of pilot whales being killed each year the hunt is considered to be sustainable according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The morality of the hunt can of course be questioned, however the claims by the Faroese regarding their commitment to community and sustainability looks reasonably sound. It is a gruesome activity of course and the “Cove” like images of a blood red sea cause offence to many.

How to get to the zoo

The islanders have claimed that they have strictly enforced laws designed to prevent unnecessary suffering during what they see as an annual harvest. The grindadráp seems to them acceptable, especially when contrasted with the daily slaughter of tens of thousands of cows, pigs, sheep and chickens in the rest of Europe.

As for Marius the giraffe, biologists routinely dissect frogs, rats, sharks, and cats in comparative anatomy classes to learn about animal anatomy.

Medical students are similarly trained and when you next visit a GP it may be useful to consider the fact that his or her care of your condition may depend entirely on a good understanding of the anatomy of the human body.

However, yet again, the morality can of course be questioned and the truth of the matter may be slightly different from the mainstream media portrayal.

The Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende wasted no time in pointing out the double standards implied in the criticism and even death threats made against the Copenhagen Zoo scientific director Bengt Holst. Pointing out that that the killing and consumption of millions of farm animals in the EEC each year went largely unchallenged amongst the meat eaters in Europe, the papers readers were quick to comment that:

“Cows, pigs and chickens live their lives in hell so that we can have cheap meat from the supermarket.”

Which roughly translated reads something like:

“Køer, grise og høns, som lever deres liv i Satans forgård i små bure og stalde med mavesår for at blive slagtet på samlebånd, så vi kan få billig kød fra supermarkedets containere.”

A Dane currently living in the UK commented that most consumers “think nothing of buying a dead chicken which has never seen light” and wonders why the press have focussed on children being able to watch the dissection.

“Surely it was their parents decision to bring them”, She said.

“We take animal welfare very seriously in Denmark and treat our farm animals very well. I don’t really see the difference between slaughtering cows and sheep for human consumption and slaughtering a giraffe for tiger consumption.”

To many, a zoo visit conjures up cosy childhood memories of cute monkeys and ever watchful meercats.

Perhaps though the reality of the local zoo being little more than a breeding establishment with an unromantic focus on scientific endeavour has come as a shock to many folk.

However, although zoo officials may not publicise the fact that the killing of animals is the price of conservation, animals including pygmy hippos, zebra and bison are regularly ‘put down’ as a consequence of breeding programmes. Poor Marius was but one victim of the human instinct to kill to protect a species.

It opens up a whole new debate really.

Perhaps we should thank the Danes for highlighting the issue.

STOP PRESS:

Jyllands Park Zoo has today (13th February 2013) announced that it too has a giraffe named Marius.

In an almost unprecedented PR disaster the Danish zoo announced:

““We can’t have two males and one female. Then there will be fights,” zoo keeper Janni Lojtved Poulsen told Danish news agency Ritzau. “If the breeding program coordinator decides that he should be put down, then that’s what we’ll do.””

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Global Gathering For Women Comes To Aberdeen

Aberdeen City, News No Responses »

Feb 142014

With thanks to Kathryn Russell.

One Billion Rising campaign will be marked across the UK.

On Saturday 15th February, women from Aberdeen will be joining a major global campaign to end violence against women by staging a number of activities.

Anyone who wishes to join in with the activities is invited to meet them at 12pm at Aberdeen Community Health and Care Village on Frederick Street. Those attending will then parade to Union Street, wearing red ribbons.

Following the parade, the group will gather in the Bon Accord Centre to dance the signature One Billion Rising dance, Break the Chain, and collect money for local rape crisis charity RAS so, if you are in the area, please come along to join in with the dance or just watch.

From 2pm, everyone is invited to take part in a Zumbathon at Ferryhill Community Centre, Albury Rd, Aberdeen AB11 6TN.

One Billion Rising is a global initiative established last year on the 15th anniversary of the V-Day movement, a campaign launched in 1998 by the activist and writer of The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler. The focus of this year’s campaign will be justice and the work to be done around the UK to tackle violence against women.

Speaking about why she decided to take part in organising the event, June McGuire said:

“We need to re-educate and reframe our thinking around rape and abuse. Rising Up, speaking out, and being visible, we take rape and abuse outside the closet, and let those One Billion women and girls, know that they are not alone, they are not victims, and that we care about what has happened to them. We are also saying it is okay to speak out about it – that the shame does not belong to them.”

Chair of RAS, Kathryn Russell said:

“We are delighted that the Zumba instructors organising the day’s activities have chose to support RAS.

“As well as providing support to anyone who has experienced rape, sexual abuse or sexual exploitation at any point in their life, we also work with communities to develop awareness of the issues surrounding rape and One Billion Rising is an important day in highlighting the extent of violence against women internationally.”

Further information about the event is available on Facebook by searching for One Billion Rising Aberdeen. https://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Billion-Rising/273840142734115?fref=ts

Facebook event page – One Billion Rising Aberdeen 15th February 2014 – link: https://www.facebook.com/events/285120108308882/?ref=ts&fref=ts

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Benefits Strasse

Articles, Featured, Opinion 2 Responses »

Jan 242014

In a fit of pique Duncan Harley rages against the machine for what its worth.

Big Brother, Corrie and now Benefits Street are at odds with much of normality in the UK.

Following the revelations about Saville using Auntie Beeb’s dressing rooms to groom over one thousand vulnerable children for sexual purposes it’s really quite surprising that anyone even watches terrestrial TV in the land of Logie Baird.

With the advent of Roku and Netflix, who really wants to be confronted with folk at the front door demanding money with menace.

– Hello sir or madam, I am a licensing authority enforcer. How are you tonight?

– Mainly fine, why do you ask?

– It’s just a courtesy really.

– Good. I have corns due to my age and a problem with my eyes.

– Yes, we have the power to destroy your credit rating.

– Oh, is that good? I don’t watch TV much.

– Why is that?

– I am blind and deaf.

– Can I come in to your house please to discus this delicate matter?

– Actually, under the terms of my moral obligation to be disgusted by the BBC’s failure to safeguard my childhood fantasies regarding Top of the Pops, veteran broadcaster Stuart Hall and those Daleks who turned out to be just plastic studio props with toilet plunger’s sticking out the front, I think not.

– OK, that’s all right then. Good day sir or madam. We have the power to destroy your credit rating.

You pays your money and you get what you pay for though and at €170.28 a pop, the licence fee raises some £3.6bn per year for those such as Mark Byford, the former deputy director general of the BBC, who defended a controversial pay-off package that saw him leave the BBC with £949,000 in his bank account.

Byford left the BBC in 2011 after being made redundant as part of a drive to cut the number of highly-paid senior executives at the BBC. He told BBC Radio 5 live’s Victoria Derbyshire:

“I absolutely don’t think it was greed on my part at all”.

He said the pay-off was “properly approved” and added:

“I absolutely think I’ve done no wrong.”

A report by the National Audit Office released in July 2013 criticised the BBC for paying out £25m in severance pay to 150 outgoing senior BBC managers which was some £2m more than their contracts stipulated.

Mr Byford’s payment was revealed to be the highest at £949,000, after 32 years of service at the BBC. That’s around 65 thousand licence fees. Good money indeed!

In contrast the Albanian licence fee is 800 Lekë (€5.81) per year and in Bosnia and Herzegovina where the civil war and the associated collapse of infrastructure caused very high evasion rates it is around €46 per year. Seemingly the somewhat desperate Bosnian authorities collect the fee via telephone bills. BT with a vengeance perhaps?

Mind you Albanian State TV was until quite recently mainly showing Norman Wisdom movies from the 1960’s and Bosnia has yet to recover from the effects of the international outrage following the ethnic cleansing of the country during the Balkan genocide.

As for Coronation Strasse, lips may well be sealed until the result of an upcoming court case involving street TV star Bill Roach is settled.

According to the Guardian:

“a woman alleges she was led to men’s toilets and made to perform sex act during studio visit at the age of 14.”

“The court were told by two women that Coronation Street actor Bill Roach sexually assaulted them in the toilets at the programme’s television studios when they were teenagers. The now 63 year old complainant told Preston crown court that Mr Roach “pulled her into the men’s toilets and forced her to masturbate him.””

If indeed true, this is disturbing testimony.

Then there’s that case unfolding against Mr Rolf Harris of Tie Me Kangaroo down fame plus something about It’s a Knockout host Stuart Hall who is currently in jail after finally admitting 14 counts of indecent assault on girls as young as nine between 1967 and 1987

With Lord McAlpines untimely death the national press may wonder whether to publish and be damned or to stay silent and appear uncertain.

Somewhat famously, Lord McAlpine was completely and wrongly accused of sexual misconduct. Various bodies such as the BBC wrongly implied that the now dead peer was a paedophile. Some of his friends attribute his demise entirely to the completely unfounded allegations. Many will feel sorry for the peers sad last days.

The BBC will be plunged into a major crisis with the publication of a damning review, expected next month, that will reveal its staff turned a blind eye to the rape and sexual assault of up to 1,000 girls and boys by long time disc jockey Jimmy Savile in the corporation’s changing rooms and studios.

Dame Janet Smith, a former court of appeal judge, who previously led the inquiry into the mass murders by local GP Dr Harold Shipman will seemingly say in her final report that the true number of victims of Savile’s sexual proclivities may never be known but that his behaviour had been recognised by BBC executives who took no action.

Many in the UK currently wonder why they are paying a licence fee to fund a shameful publicly funded system which appears to ignore not only the law but also morality.

The UK requirement for a dog licence was abolished in 1987. Prior to this dog licences were mandatory but the requirement was widely ignored with only about fifty percent of owners having one. The final rate for a dog licence was a meagre 37 pence.

The TV licence should perhaps follow suit very soon.

A YouGov poll for The Telegraph recently found that almost two thirds of those surveyed agreed that the licence fee should be abolished because so many households had satellite or cable television.

The “Stop BBC Bias” campaign is encouraging “refuseniks” to register with it by phoning 09012 702 414 or by visiting its website – www.bbcbias.org although as of the time of writing the site is unavailable due to “technical problems.” It’s on error 404 seemingly.

A BBC spokesman recently said:

“Our policy is and always has been clear. If you don’t have a licence and are using televisual equipment, you’re breaking the law.”

There perhaps lies self interest.

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Save The Tullos Hill Deer: From Cruel Illegal Poachers

Aberdeen City, Articles, Environment, Featured 2 Responses »

Jan 162014

A £500+ reward has been offered for information passed to the Scottish SPCA leading to the conviction of person(s) involved in killing animals in Aberdeen’s ‘Gramps’ – Kincorth and Tullos Hill. Suzanne Kelly reports.

A dog walker on Kincorth Hill made a gruesome discovery when their dog found a severed roe deer leg this week.

The witness who took a photo of the severed limb also found small mounds of an unidentified white powdery substance.

They were able to locate a ranger on the hill and reported their finds. The ranger revealed that a skinned cat had been found on Kincorth Hill as well.

Aberdeen Voice found a second hand witness who claims deer were also illegally slaughtered and dismembered on Tullos Hill earlier in January – and who claims the police attended the scene. In this instance Aberdeen Voice was told ‘the police said five deer had been killed’, and ‘there were legs everywhere’.

A Scottish SPCA spokesperson knew nothing about either event. Clarification is being sought as to whether the City’s rangers informed the police about the Kincorth Hill discoveries, and whether the information was passed to the Scottish SPCA or not.

Tullos Hill made national headlines when Aberdeen City Council pushed ahead with a scheme to plant tens of thousands of trees on this former dumping ground – killing some 36 deer in the process. A previous scheme failed, costing the taxpayer at least £43,800 (not counting the fees paid to experts including C J Piper).

Experts wrote in a Forestry Commission report that trees are unlikely to thrive because of factors including the poor soil matrix and potential for being blown over in high winds. Domestic and industrial waste from decades of dumping is clearly visible in the thin soil where the saplings were planted.

Gorse covered a large part of the hill in the past; it was home to the deer and a variety of birds. With the gorse cover, the deer had some security from predators including dogs and hunters.

Despite the stated wishes of several community councils and a petition signed by thousands, the city pushed ahead with the deer cull, insisting the trees would be destroyed by the deer, and that ‘deer had no natural predators’ – a claim made by Peter Leonard of the City’s Housing directorate, and former Housing & Environment leader, Liberal Democrat Aileen Malone.

Clearly the person or persons responsible for this current spate of animal killings constitute predators, whatever pro-culling proponents may claim.

Malone had prevented two people from speaking against the cull (they had new evidence to bring including the cost of the previous failure) at the committee meeting at which the ‘Tree for Every Citizen Scheme’s’ supporters voted to have the deer shot.

The reason for refusing the delegates from speaking was that Malone had only asked for a verbal report on the issue, and not a written one – therefore stopping any potential critics.

Many on both sides of the issue found this move contrary to the spirit of transparency and democracy.

It is not known how the deer were killed, if the meat was taken for use or for sale, and whether or not dogs were involved. Any such attack on wildlife is contrary to Scottish law, and fines and potential imprisonment could follow a successful prosecution. Anyone who can identify those involved is urged to contact the Scottish SPCA on 03000 999 999; witnesses can remain anonymous.

There are very few deer left in our area following the city’s destruction of over half the herd, estimated before the city’s cull to number 70. There have been indications that illegal dog fighting may also be taking place in Aberdeen city and shire. Anyone with information about dog fighting, the theft of animals, or animal abuse or destruction is urged to contact Police Scotland on 101, the Scottish SPCA, and/or Aberdeen Voice.

When the city and the police have responded to questions put to them about these incidents, Aberdeen Voice will publish an update.

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