ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

A benign Ogre – Stop and Search in Northern Ireland

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An ogre can be someone who is frightening or a ‘man’ who eats people.

So why did this come into my mind having just read an article by the BBC on “What are my rights if I’m stopped and searched?”? We as human beings have a tendency to resort to literature characters who are not real to enable us to describe a situation we are currently in or have experienced.

Firstly, I have yet again to take the BBC to task for being England/Wales centric. The article is professionally written and researched, however, to dismiss Scotland and Northern Ireland with the lines:

…The laws in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different, but there are many similarities with those in England and Wales..
shows a total lack of understanding that each of these countries is unique as is its law. I will not endeavour to speak about Scottish law as I do not live there, however, the law in Northern Ireland is most definitely coloured by the 30+ years of the ‘troubles’. This has polarised a lot of the community in terms of accepting the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland).

 

Stop & Search - A benign OgreA crowd - A benign Ogre

Now back to Stop and Search in Northern Ireland, let us do a comparison on stop and search figures:

Stop and Search Comparison

CountryYearPopulationStatistics of people stoppedRatio as per population
England & Wales291856.1m (approx)380,00019 people stopped per every 2810
Northern Ireland20181.88m (approx)28,11628 people stopped per every 2288

So, what are your rights if you are ‘Stopped and Searched’ in Northern Ireland?

According to Northern Ireland Direct, and here I will quoted directly…

Who can stop and search you?

Any police officer can stop and search you. If they are not in uniform they must identify themselves before the search takes place. The stop and search action doesn’t mean you’re under arrest or that you’ve done something wrong.
The reasons police can stop and search you
The police can stop and search you:
• if there has been serious violence or disorder in the area
• if police are looking for a suspect who fits your description
• if police have reasonable grounds to suspect you’re carrying drugs, a weapon or stolen property
• in countering terrorism

What happens in a stop and search?

If you’re stopped and searched:
• you must stay for all of the search
• police must make sure the search time is as short as possible
• the search must take place where you were stopped or nearby, unless moving you would protect your privacy
Before a search, a police officer must tell you the grounds for the search, what they’re looking for, their name (except where the stop and search is to do with terrorism) and the station they’re attached to.
If you’re in a public place, you’ll be asked to remove your coat or jacket and any headgear or gloves worn unless the search is to do with terrorism or when police believe you’re using clothes to hide your identity. They can ask you to empty your pockets and open any baggage to help the search….(https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/stop-and-search)

But there is more to be considered; what personal information am I obliged to give the officer?

According to the Citizenship Foundation, this is what you should think about:

…: I do not have to give my name or address to the police
It Depends. You only have to if the police suspect you have committed (or are about to commit) an arrestable offence.
You don’t have to answer a police officer’s questions, but someone who refuses to give their name and address may be arrested if the police officer reasonably believes they have committed an offence. You have the right not to answer any more questions until you have received legal advice from a solicitor.
In Northern Ireland, a person has an obligation to give their name and address and DOB under certain circumstance, together with the answers to some questions, under section 21 of the Justice and Security Act. Consider

Q: If you’ve not done anything wrong, do you think refusing to say your name makes you look suspicious?
Q: Do you think it’s worth having this right if enforcing it means that you could be suspected of committing an offence…

(https://smartlaw.org.uk/wordpress//content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2017/04/Police-powers-teachers-notes-v2.pdf)

Now consider in April 1993 the Editor of upstart (a local gay publication) stated exactly the same thing, but with the addition of reminding people if they are in doubt then give the minimum information you have to ask to see a solicitor – for Northern Ireland at this time this was really relevant for gay men, as various purges were taking place (the latest at that time being in Belvior Park) and people’s lives were being destroyed.

We all have a right to support the police forces in their given legal duty, but remember they like us are human and can make mistakes.

 

External links:

 

 

Conversion Therapy – Rethink Finally

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The Growing Movement to Ban Conversion Therapy

 

 

Earlier this month I wrote an article (Gay Conversion Therapy – Government Cop Out) reflecting back on how long we have been raising this issue and why was the government dragging its feet over putting in place measure to stop young LGBTQ people from being mentally tortured?

I reflected back on Dr Paul Miller, on Stormont’s intransigence, and how the Westminster bullies (those in a position of power and trust) seemed to feel that LGBTQ people do not count and do not need to be protected.

So I welcome that the Northern Ireland Executive is going to take the lead and develop a strategy across a number of Departments to have legislation put in place to place a ban on reparative or conversion therapy by private operations.

As I said in my previous article, conversion therapy is nothing short of ‘brain washing’, the LGBTQ community and the people in it do not need to be converted, they need to be made to feel equal within society in all aspects! 

Raising Equality (US) - Openclipart

 

External links:

 

 

 

 

Gay Conversion Therapy – Government Cop Out

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In June 2013, I wrote a short piece on Dr Paul Miller MD DMH MRC Psych as he had hit the headlines due to his ability to ‘cure’ gays through ‘Gay Conversion Therapy’.  Also, his close connections to ex-Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Iris Robinson.

Why am I re-raising this again you may ask; well I was reading some old Hansards’ and came across a report on Dr Miller talking to a

NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE FOR HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY

where he was talking about suicide and in particular with young men.  He also made reference to his Christian beliefs in this report.  He outlined all his experience and qualifications – which  to a layman seem to be very exhaustive.

Now back to today, Dr Miller is Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychogeriatrician. Clinical Lead and Responsible Officer at Mirabilis Health which is based in Glengormley.  A recent report (Announced Care Inspection Report 27 March 2017) from The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority found no issues with the establishment and the 12 patients who submitted questionnaire responses indicated that the service is well managed.

Now the therapy system that Dr Miller uses is:

EMDR therapy is broken down into eight different phases, so you’ll need to attend multiple sessions. Treatment usually takes about 12 separate sessions.

Phase 1: History and treatment planning

Your therapist will first review your history and decide where you are in the treatment process. This evaluation phase also includes talking about your trauma and identifying potential traumatic memories to treat specifically.

Phase 2: Preparation

Your therapist will then help you learn several different ways to cope with the emotional or psychological stress you’re experiencing.

Stress management techniques such as deep breathing and mindfulness may be used.

Phase 3: Assessment

During the third phase of EMDR treatment, your therapist will identify the specific memories that will be targeted and all the associated components (such as the physical sensations that are stimulated when you concentrate on an event) for each target memory.

Phases 4-7: Treatment

Your therapist will then begin using EMDR therapy techniques to treat your targeted memories. During these sessions, you will be asked to focus on a negative thought, memory, or image.

Your therapist will simultaneously have you do specific eye movements. The bilateral stimulation may also include taps or other movements mixed in, depending on your case.

After the bilateral stimulation, your therapist will ask you to let your mind go blank and notice the thoughts and feelings you’re having spontaneously. After you identify these thoughts, your therapist may have you refocus on that traumatic memory, or move on to another.

If you become distressed, your therapist will help bring you back to the present before moving on to another traumatic memory. Over time, the distress over particular thoughts, images, or memories should start to fade.

Phase 8: Evaluation

In the final phase, you’ll be asked to evaluate your progress after these sessions. Your therapist will do the same.

I am not saying EMDR is not successful, EMDR therapy has proven to be very effective in the treatment of PTSD for instance, however as being gay is not a medical condition, and possibly using it as a form of Gay Conversion treatment of ‘gays’ it would seem more like a version of brainwashing.

Brainwashing - Gay Conversion Therapy

Now the LGBT community has been fighting for gay conversion therapy to be banned in the UK.  Indeed in 2018, then-prime minister Theresa May’s LGBT action plan said the government would bring forward proposals to “end the practice of conversion therapy” as a priority; however the current Conservative equalities minister Kemi Badenoch says the so-called therapy is a ‘very complex issue’ and the department was unable to produce a timetable for any legislation or forthcoming consultation.

Westminster and Gay Conversion Therapy
Conservative Government Cop Out

Research

Belfast psychiatrist Miller to face cash dealings probe – Headline from 18 April 2013

The ‘gay cure’ experiments that were written out of scientific history

Treatments of homosexuality in Britain since the 1950s—an oral history: the experience of patients

Conversion Therapy

The cruel, dangerous reality of gay conversion therapy

Gay Conversion Therapy’s Disturbing 19th-Century Origins

I tried gay conversion therapy and it was my own horror film

UK government hasn’t banned gay conversion therapy two years after pledge to end practice

EMDR Therapy: What You Need to Know

‘The love letter to my neighbourhood that helped me flee my country’ – BBC News

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Source: ‘The love letter to my neighbourhood that helped me flee my country’ – BBC News

 

This is a wonderful insightful letter from the journalist  José Gregorio Márquez, who is writing about his believed Venezuela.  It flows with love and wonder, but also heartache when he references the killings and disappearances in his country, and why he had to finally leave for Buenos Aires and start a new life.

 

A photo on his wall

 

Civil Liberties – is the legacy living on?

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I wrote this article some time ago, to be exact in Sep 2013, for another organisation, but it is time we think again as we are going through the sham elections for a new Prime Minister, and with the candidates who are standing:

Martin Luther King jnr - Civil Liberties

Civil Liberties

Over the last few weeks papers, television and radio have been referring to Martin Luther King jnr’s speech ‘I have a dream’ which was delivered in Washington on August 28, 1963.

The speech was the high point of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; which in itself became the focal point of a campaign against discrimination, voting restrictions, unfair treatment by the police and statutory barriers against social mobility and economic opportunity.

The impact of this speech was felt across America, and then across the world, and whilst MLK was not initially billed as the main speaker, his speech has now become synonymous with Civil Rights, and led within two years to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 1965 Voting Rights Act being passed in the USA.

Rustin Bayard and Martin Luther King jnr - Civil Liberties
March on Washington Aug 28 - Civil Liberties

Non-Violent Action

MLK developed his commitment to a principle of non-violent action through the tutelage of Bayard Rustin, a man who was black, gay, and a Quaker.  Bayard’s own life had been through many phases. Bayard was brought up by his grandparents acting as his parents, who were Methodists ( he later found out that his ‘sister’ was his mother).  He was a member of the Young Communist League until 1941 after the Nazi invasion of Russia led the U.S. party to switch gears into building American opposition to fascism, and racial justice issues fell by the wayside.

Rustin was a deeply committed pacifist, owing largely to his Quaker background, and got thrown in jail for conscientiously objecting to service in World War II. It was his introduction of Gandhi’s tactics of nonviolent resistance (which he learned when visiting independence activists in India) to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr which served as a platform for MLK’s enduring success in civil liberties along with his oratory.

Bayard being gay, and also that he had been arrested for 1953 and sentenced under the lesser charge of ‘sex perversion’, was often used by his enemies both in the establishment and in the civil liberties camp as an indication of his unsuitability.  However, it is interesting to read the FBI synopsis on him:

Federal Bureau of Investigation

A Federal Bureau of Investigation internal memorandum (25th January, 1966)
Rustin is a very competent individual who is widely known in the civil rights field. He is personally familiar with numerous individuals with communist backgrounds. As one of Martin Luther King’s closest advisers, he is in a position to wield considerable influence on King’s activities. Technical coverage of Rustin is an important part of the overall coverage of King, who is the most prominent civil rights in the country today. Because of the influence being exerted on King by persons with subversive backgrounds, it is necessary for us to maintain coverage of individuals such as Rustin. In order to fulfill the Bureau’s responsibilities to uncover communist influence in racial matters, it is recommended that technical coverage of Rustin be continued.

Bayard Sings - Civil LIverties

Written out of History

Bayard Rustin, has been a man written out of history due to his abilities and to him being black and gay; fortunately society has moved on today, and more importantly the USA has a black president who this year has recognised the importance of Bayard by awarding him Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this month.

Unfortunately some 50 years after MLK’s speech, and it’s impact worldwide, I must report that civil liberties in the United Kingdom are under threat.  Our freedoms, whether those of the LGBT community, black, white, religious or non-religious are important to us.  History has shown that we must fight and succour our civil liberties; that we must not allow governments to sequester them in the pursuit of security.  So having said this how do we in one of the first democracies of the world now have one and a half times as many surveillance cameras as communist China (Tom Kelly, Mail Online,  Aug 2009).  According to the Association of Chief Police Officers,  as of Aug 2011, there are in actuality 1.85 million CCTV cameras in the united kingdom.

To this we can also see the implementation of ‘Stop and Search’.  In June of this year, it was stated that there were a million stops each year, with only 9% leading to court cases (BBC, July 2, 2013).  However an article in the Sunday Post dated August 25, 2013, said that in the last year the Scottish Police have actioned six hundred and twelve thousand (612,000) stop and searches in the last year – approximately a 50% increase, with only thirteen percent (13%) possibly finding anything!

I do not believe that England and Wales only did 400,000 stop and searches over this period, and looking back a few years ago I wrote about the police tactics of stopping people and confiscating cameras and videos during various times of unrest ‘in the interest of the public’. A tactic which has since been clarified as being unjustified.

Our civil liberties belong to us:

As for civil liberties, any one who is not vigilant may one day find himself living, if not in a police state, at least in a police city. Gore Vidal
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/gore_vidal_704644?src=t_civil_liberties

Civil liberties in the United Kingdom have a long and formative history. This is usually considered to have begun with the English legal charter the Magna Carta of 1215, following its predecessor the English Charter of Liberties, a landmark document in English legal history.  However it could be argued that the Declaration of Arbroath of 1320 in Scotland was the first attempted implementation of civil liberties in part of the United Kingdom.  Today the United Kingdom’s relationship to civil liberties has been mediated through its membership of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In other words, civil liberties are the “rights” or “freedoms” which underpin democracy. This usually means the right to vote, the right to life, the prohibition on torture, security of the person, the right to personal liberty and due process of law, freedom of expression and freedom of association.[3]

(Wikipedia, 2013)

Stop the Police State

I call upon everyone to monitor their police and security forces, their local and national government – don’t allow the United Kingdom to become a ‘police’ state.

banksy-search
S&S KNow Your Rights

Further Reading:

Wikipedia –Civil Liberties in the United Kingdom
Wikipedia – Bayard Rustin
The Atlantic – Article by Kerry Eleveld ‘Obama, Bayard Rustin, and the New LGBT Civil Rights Movement‘
Spartacus Educational – Bayard Rustin
Washington Post – Wonkblog – Meet Bayard Rustin, the gay socialist pacifist who planned the 1963 march on Washington

Civil Liberties

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first published in 2008

”A strong commitment to civil liberties, once considered a defining British characteristic, has weakened dramatically over the past 20 years, the survey found ”

(Telegraph.co.uk 1:44AM GMT 24/01/2007)

National security is the first duty of government but we are also committed to reversing the substantial erosion of civil liberties.

Theresa May

As someone who was born into a service family, and who then went onto to serve in the Forces, with time spent in various areas of the world, I feel that the current debate and result is an insult to the British population.

The Government and its agents managed, albeit over a twenty year period, to contain and finally achieve a workable result for all of the people of Northern Ireland without resulting in a 42-day detainment. Indeed, all parties did agree that detainment without due process is counterproductive to the well being of the British people.

Why then have we now resorted to a further dilution of our civil liberties’ with the amendment to Habeas Corpus?

”The Habeas Corpus Act passed by Parliament in 1679 guaranteed that a person detained by the authorities would have to be brought before a court of law so that the legality of the detention may be examined. In times of social unrest, Parliament had the power to suspend Habeas Corpus. William Pitt did this in May 1793 during the war with France. Parliamentary reformers such as Thomas Hardy and John Thelwall were imprisoned as a result of this action ”

(http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRgagging.htm)

Habeas Corpus Act - Civil Liberties

Loss of liberty and rights since 1997; a full list of these losses are contained on the Open Democracy Network and further information is also on the Liberty website.

This change in the law cannot be seen in isolation. Various governments have been eroding our rights and because it has been slow, and in a lot of cases, the changes have been slid through on the back of other innocuous legislation most people have not noticed what has been happening.

A lot of people will say that if you are doing nothing wrong then it won’t matter’, however a clear identification of the misuse of legislation was highlighted in May this year when it came to light that local councils through middle managers are able to authorise surveillance of people suspected of petty offences using powers designed to prevent crime and terrorism.

Down The Rabbit Hole - Civil Liberties

This to my mind is a clear misuse of the legislation involved, and signals that the government (both central and local) have no moral compass and will use any means to achieve their ends.

I regret the fact we as a people have lost sight of our rights and allowed ourselves to be blinded by very poor rhetoric and people who prey on fears, which may be slightly justified but not to the extent that we are being told, as indicated by the Head of MI5, Jonathan Evans.

Women in Politics

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Today I was in the ‘Self Help Africa’ bookshop in Botanic Avenue, when I came across two postcards which reflected the development of women in politics.

Miss Kelly

The first postcard Shows ‘Miss Kelly’ a champion Votes for Women seller’, on what was her pitch in Charing Cross.

This refers to the period when women were fighting for the right to have a vote during elections; suffragettes were members of a militant women’s organisation who in the early 20th century, under the banner “Votes for Women”.

The term referred in particular to members of the British Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), a women-only movement founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst, which engaged in direct action and civil disobedience.

Irish Women Workers’ Union

My second find was a postcard showing a group of ladies who were part of the Irish Women Workers’ Union (1911-1984).  The Irish Women Workers’ Union was founded at a public meeting held on September 5th 1911 in the old Antient Concert Hall on Great Brunswick (later the Academy cinema on what is now called Pearse Street ).

The IWWU at it’s peak represented 70,000 women including, bookbinders, contract cleaners, laundry, print and electronic workers.  They were instrumental in obtaining the right for two weeks annual paid leave for all Irish workers in 1945, something which no organised male worker had previously demanded.

olitics

What peaked my interest was the situation of two completely different countries, having spawned women’s movements because women had little or no rights, and were considered to be inferior:

‘Masculine prejudice is the major target: man’s opinion of the fair sex is due to nothing more than mere custom, and the male chauvinist viewpoint (to use a modern term) has neither a logical nor a scientific leg to stand on ‘

Today we still have problems accepting women in positions of power and also in politics; in the last few years we have seen the rise of ‘Times UP’, in 2017 a group of women published a letter which said in part:-

“The struggle for women to break in, to rise up the ranks and to simply be heard and acknowledged in male-dominated workplaces must end; time’s up on this impenetrable monopoly”…

Just as we have seen and continue to see the fight for LGBTQ rights throughout the world; something which the British Government has in past created the problem through it’s empire days, and even today it continues to on one hand says it is supportive, but on the other pays lip service to it when economics comes into pay (e.g. Middle Est, African Continent etc).

We have a long way to go in this world until we have equality for all, not matter what the gender, or where they live!

Further reading:

Civil Liberties

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So when should we start worrying about our ‘Civil Liberties’?

The answer is off necessity at all times.  If we as a nation are not careful then we lose our civil liberties;  in the past, we have had police confiscating cameras and phones being used to cover demonstrations under the guise of ‘national security’, which was proved to be a falsehood.  We have had people through the guise of rendition locked up without trial, and again later release and compensation paid.

In February 2009, Tracy McVeigh reported on a number of sold-out conferences which were about

‘The government and the courts are collaborating in shaving away freedoms and pushing Britain to the brink of becoming a “database” police state’

Have things changed and improved?  That is for each of us to judge, but we need to realise it is our individual responsibility to monitor the government and hold them accountable, and that we do this be turning out to elections.

Civil Liberties

Further reading:

Retrospective Justice

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When I read this article, and also subsequent articles from other journalists, I was of a mind that it is what government does – changes the goal posts to suit it needs – in this case retrospective justice.  However, during my research, I was taken to the following publication ‘The legislative sovereignty of the Westminster Parliament‘ and the following quote

Each Parliament is absolutely sovereign in its own time and may legislate as it wishes on any topic and for any place

also

Parliament has the power to legislate retrospectively as well as prospectively. This means that Parliament can render illegal and impose penalties on actions which were perfectly lawful when they were committed. Also, actions which were unlawful at the time of commission, may be rendered lawful or not subject to any legal sanction or proceedings.

So the end result would seem to be, that governments are unique, and resolve their issues in their own way, without necessarily having to conform to what previous governments have said.  However, legislation is still legislation, and it would seem to me that for an integral part of a published Act of Parliament to be changed, then it must be debated in the House and agreed by both Houses. The Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 set the relevant date as being 1 January 2014, not 2017; so we must only assume from this change that ‘someone’ has something to hide.

Image result for scales of justice UK

Skating on thin ice – Retrospective Justice

So an end to donation secrecy in Northern Ireland. It’s been long awaited, but today James Brokenshire made good his party’s promise in their Northern Irish manifesto… From Hansar…

Source: End of donor secrecy (flick of a legislative wand and NI ‘dark money’ is a thing of the past)…

Libraries need saving – NOW!!!

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libraries
libraries

I am posting this article because I think there is a need for us to step back from the abyss in the United Kingdom and realise that the closure of libraries and associated resources (including school libraries) is detrimental to our future as a country and also for us as individuals.  The first public library came into being with The Public Libraries Act 1850, and this gave local boroughs the power to establish ‘free’ public libraries.  The Act was the first legislative step in the creation of an enduring national institution that provides universal free access to information and literature, and was indicative of the moral, social and educative concerns of the time.

Our libraries need saving now!

librariesAfter nearly 170 years we are close to loosing that infrastructure for self education.  The article below from Emily Prado, and in particular here paragraph just prior to the quote, ..Yet the recent election cycle and studies revealing Americans’ inability to sort clickbait from facts demonstrate how far from the truth this sentiment really is – ‘that libraries are not necessary’.

I am a long term self educationalist, with a passion for books and libraries.  I access them through libraries, book shops, charity shops and also the internet.  However without the library services of the past I would not be in that position today.  Boys and girls require different stimuli and the libraries of the past allowed for this to happen, whether it was at school or in public libraries; now our future is looking bleak!

Further reading:

Libraries are radical, evolving resources that function with the sole purpose of providing free access to information for the masses and creating intellectual equality.

Source: Freedom of Information: Libraries in the Age of Trump