Showing posts with label Downing Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Downing Street. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT: He should have been hailed a hero for his wartime codebreaking. Instead he was prosecuted for his homosexuality and took his own life. So why has Britain never said sorry? Jonathan Brown reports
He may have played a pivotal role in securing victory in the Second World War for his country six years earlier, but few outside the academic community would have recognised Alan Turing as he made his way down Manchester's Oxford Street shortly before Christmas in 1951. Someone who did notice the athletically-built scientist, however, was a young working class gay man called Arnold Murray.
Homosexuality was still illegal under the same repressive laws which had sent Oscar Wilde to jail half a century earlier. But regardless of the risk, the chance encounter was to develop into something more substantial and Murray spent a number of nights at the older man's modest home in suburban Wilmslow.
A month later, after Turing, a veteran of the then still secret Bletchley Park code-cracking team, had been giving a talk to the BBC on his pioneering work on artificial intelligence, he returned home to find his house burgled.
The culprit was an acquaintance of Murray's, who would prey on Murray's lovers, thinking they would be so afraid of being outed that they would not report the thefts to the police.
But Turing defied this convention and went straight to the police, where he admitted his affair – a "crime" for which he was spared the normal two-year jail term in favour of a hormonal treatment designed to beef up his masculine urges and suppress his homosexuality. The resulting publicity was to prove too much to bear and in June 1954, the 41-year-old was found dead in bed by his housekeeper. He had eaten an apple he had laced with poison.
The consequences which unfolded were not only a tragedy for Turing, his friends and family, it also robbed the world of one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. Now campaigners are demanding an official apology from the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, recognising the "consequences of prejudice that ended his career". More than 700 people have signed a petition started by the leading computer scientist John Graham-Cumming on the Downing Street website, including gay rights campaigners, politicians and scientists.
"What really annoyed me about this was here was a man who died in his early 40s because he was a homosexual. He was a war hero but here was a part of our history that we were turning a blind eye to when we should be celebrating it. There were a lot of homosexual people during the war doing incredible work – if it was not for Turing we would most likely be having this conversation in German," Mr Graham-Cumming said. >>> Jonathan Brown | Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: A propaganda war is masking the real problems over health care reform, says Toby Harnden.
If Stephen Hawking had been treated in Britain, he would not have survived to be awarded his Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama yesterday, because the NHS "would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless". That was the thundering verdict of the Investor's Business Daily on our National Health Service and Mr Obama's plans to introduce what Republicans term "socialised medicine".
It was, as scientists sometimes say, a beautiful hypothesis destroyed by a single ugly fact. Professor Hawking, who is completely paralysed by motor neurone disease, has been treated by the NHS throughout his 67 years, and points out indignantly that he would not have lived without its care.
Much of the conservative contribution to the health care debate raging in the United States, which is dominating a long, hot summer, has been as misguided as that newspaper editorial. With the battle lines drawn, and President Obama staking his credibility on achieving a comprehensive reform that delivers health insurance to the tens of millions without it, Democratic members of Congress are facing the wrath and anxiety of their constituents – who are being urged on by opponents of reform.
Sarah Palin, who recently resigned as Alaska's governor but remains the darling of rural conservatives, invoked the spectre of a "death panel" pronouncing on whether her baby Trig, who has Down's syndrome, should be allowed to live.
Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa suggested that this was what happened in Britain. "I've heard several senators say that Ted Kennedy with a brain tumour, being 77 years old … if he were in England, would not be treated… when you get to be 77, your life is considered less valuable under those systems," he said.
In a television ad from the Club for Growth pressure group, a narrator intones portentously as images of Big Ben and the Union flag appear on the screen: "$22,750. In England, government health officials decided that's how much six months of life is worth. Under their socialised system, if a medical treatment costs more, you're out of luck. That's wrong for America." Cue the Statue of Liberty and the Stars and Stripes.
The figure comes from Britain's National Institute for Clinical Evidence, which evaluates treatments in terms of the average increase in life expectancy. If the cost of prolonging someone's life for a year exceeds more than £30,000, then the NHS will not pay for that treatment. In other words, although there are no "death panels", the fundamental point is correct. The NHS does decide that some treatments are too expensive. And if that means you die? Our condolences, says the Government. >>> Toby Harnden | sday, August 12, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Gordon Brown has joined in the Twitter campaign to defend the National Health Service following protests in the United States at Barack Obama's drive to reform the American healthcare system.
The Prime Minister's wife, Sarah, also leapt to the defence of the NHS, after US critics opposed to the President's reforms described the British system as "evil" and "Orwellian."
Many Republicans are opposed to what they term as "socialised" medicine. But Britons living in the US and in this country furious at the attacks have hit back by organising a campaign on the social networking site urging backers of the NHS to send messages of support.
Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary, is among those who have taken part, along with thousands of ordinary members of the public.
Such is the popularity of the campaign - called #welovethenhs - that the site crashed yesterday.
Mr Brown used the Downing Street twitter page to add his support. His message said: "PM; NHS often makes the difference between pain and comfort, despair and hope, life and death. Thanks for always being there."
Mrs Brown added: "#we love the nhs - more than we can say." The Health Secretary twittered: "Andy Burnham: Over the moon about strong support for the NHS - an institution I will defend to my dying day." >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Thursday, August 13, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
NZZ am Sonntag: Die britische Regierung will den früheren Premierminister Tony Blair zum EU-Präsidenten machen. Der Widerstand gegen diesen Plan ist gerade unter den britischen Bürgern gross.
Die frischgebackene britische Europa-Ministerin, Glenys Kinnock, hat vergangene Woche in Strassburg verkündet, ihre Regierung unterstütze «selbstverständlich» den früheren britischen Premierminister Tony Blair als Kandidaten für das zu schaffende Präsidium des Europäischen Ministerrates. Die eben geadelte Gattin des früheren Labour-Vorsitzenden Neil Kinnock lobte Blairs Charakterstärke und behauptete, er geniesse grossen Respekt.
Der Gedanke, Blair in dieses vorläufig weder existierende noch genau definierte Amt zu hieven, ist nicht neu. Schon im Januar 2008, als Blairs unfreiwilliger Abgang aus der Downing Street noch weniger als ein Jahr her war, portierte der französische Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy seinen Kollegen: «Er ist intelligent, er ist tapfer, und er ist ein Freund», begründete er. >>> Martin Alioth, Dublin | Sonntag, 19. Juli 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, has harshly criticised President Barack Obama's condemnation of the country's "iron fist" response to demonstrations over its disputed election.
The Iranian leader denounced Britain for meddling in the election aftermath and said that Mr Obama had fallen into the same trap.
"They (The British) already have a bad record in these matters," he said, describing Downing Street as being run by "political retards". "But why did the US president fall into their trap?"
He advised Mr Obama to take a different approach from his predecessor President George W Bush.
"I hope you (Obama) will avoid interfering in Iran's affairs and express regret in a way that the Iranian people are informed of it," Mr Ahmadinejad said.
"Will you use this language with Iran (in any future dialogue)? If this is your stance, there will be nothing left to talk about. Do you think this behaviour will solve the problem for you? This will not have any result except that the people will consider you somebody similar to Bush." >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
EVENING STANDARD: A Muslim fundamentalist leader today told of his vision of Britain under Sharia law.
Anjem Choudary said he wanted the “flag of Allah” flying over Downing Street, all women wearing burkas and caning for drunkenness.
He is the leader of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, founded as a successor to the banned fundamentalist sect al-Muhajiroun, which was led by now-exiled preacher Omar Bakri Muhammad.
The self-proclaimed Sharia judge admitted his followers had organised protests against British soldiers in Luton this week, waving placards which called them “murderers” for their conduct in Iraq.
Mr Choudary, a 41-year-old lawyer, said he was proud to be reviled. “It's inevitable that when you offer an alternative morality and way of life many people will hate you for it.”
He said this “alternative morality” would mean “a pure Islamic state with Sharia law in Britain” and added: “Every woman, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, would have to wear a traditional burka and cover everything apart from her face and hands in public.”
“In matters to do with the judicial system and the penal code, one male witness is sufficient to counter the testimony of two females. People who commit adultery would be stoned to death.”
Mr Choudary, a father of three, admitted he lived off benefits despite objecting to the British state. He rejected suggestions of hypocrisy, saying: “I don't think it's of any importance.” [Source: Evening Standard] Friday, March 13, 2009
Hat tip: Jihad Watch
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>
Saturday, March 14, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Islamist extremist Anjem Choudary has been caught on tape urging an audience to raise funds for the 'mujaheddin'
OUTWARDLY he presents an innocuous image as a be-spectacled father of three trained in the law. But Anjem Choudary is now considered by many politicians and religious leaders as the most dangerous Islamist extremist in Britain.
He has previously made no secret of his demands that the country be placed under sharia - Islamic law. This would mean all women would have to wear veils, adulterers would be stoned to death and drunks whipped in public.
Last Tuesday Choudary and his small but obsessive group of followers turned their bile on British troops parading through Luton after their return from service in Iraq.
While his placard-waving “students” fomented a near-riot by branding the men and women of the Royal Anglian Regiment as “butchers” and “cowards”, Choudary, who was not present, did not shrink from fanning the flames of outrage.
Within hours of the ugly confrontation in Luton, he had posted a message on the Islam4UK website, calling the troops “pompous” and accusing them of murdering women and children in Iraq.
He later gave a glimpse of his vision of Britain in a newspaper interview, calling for the “black flag of Allah” to be raised over Downing Street.
In the absence of his former guru, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed - a firebrand preacher banned from Britain - and with Abu Hamza, the hook-handed cleric of Finsbury Park mosque, in jail, Choudary appears to have installed himself as the country’s most vocal Islamist.
He has always been at pains to keep his public proselytising within the boundaries of British law.
Now Choudary, 41, a founder member of the British wing of Al-Muhajiroun, an extremist group, has been caught on tape urging an audience to raise funds for the “mujaheddin” - a phrase usually associated with insurgents in Iraq and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, it is an offence to “invite another to provide money or other property” for the purposes of terrorism. Offenders risk a prison sentence of up to 14 years. >>> Abul Taher and Daniel Foggo | Sunday, March 15, 2009
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Hate Cleric Leads Jihad Cash Appeal
Anjem Choudary, who led protests against returning British troops, has urged his followers to send money to 'mujaheddin'
AN Islamic cleric, whose supporters led a hate-filled protest against British troops returning from Iraq, has urged his followers to give cash to front-line mujaheddin fighters.
A recording has emerged of Anjem Choudary, a self-styled sharia judge and former leader of the banned group Al-Muhajiroun, telling his followers to stop spending their money on their families and divert it to Muslim soldiers waging jihad, or holy war.
There were demands for Choudary to be investigated by police. He has previously called for British women to be forced to wear burqas and for adulterers to be killed. Several radical preachers have previously been jailed for urging British Muslims to give money to Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in Iraq.
The emergence of the tape coincided with the death yesterday of a British soldier in Afghanistan, the 150th to die there since 2001. The soldier of the 2nd battalion, Royal Welsh regiment, was on foot patrol. >>> Abul Taher and Daniel Foggo | Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
BBC: Immigration Minister Phil Woolas has accused the Office for National Statistics of "playing politics" with population figures.
He said he was "appalled" at the release of figures showing one in nine British residents was born abroad.
In a letter Mr Woolas describes the decision to release the data as "at best naive or, at worst, sinister".
The Tories have accused the government of "bullying" the ONS and trying to "suppress" embarrassing information.
And Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said the Home Office should get their "tanks off the statisticians' lawn".
The ONS declined to comment on Mr Woolas's intervention.
Downing Street denied the government was trying to intimidate the statistics body, saying the prime minister fully supported its independence.
But the prime minister's official spokesman said the ONS had to be aware of "the sensitivities" surrounding the immigration debate and the government was "questioning" the timing of the release of data which "can have a political bearing". >>> | Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
THE SUN: A HATE fanatic has boasted that Muslims will one day conquer Britain — by having more BABIES.
Speaking at a rally marking 9/11, Anjem Choudary bragged that a birth explosion would let followers of Islam take control of the country.
Undercover Sun investigators secretly recorded Choudary telling a young and impressionable audience that they would eventually rule under strict Sharia law.
And our team listened in chilled silence as he predicted: “Islam is superior and will never be surpassed. The flag of Islam will rise over Downing Street.”
Lawyer Choudary also said it would be easy for vast numbers of Muslims to declare Jihad, or holy war, against Britain — and that every one of them could become “a time bomb waiting to go off”.
The Sun team watched vile Choudary, the right-hand man of exiled preacher of hate Omar Bakri, ranting to 100 young Muslims at a meeting in East London.
The mob bayed and cheered as he said: “About 500 people in Britain become Muslim every day.
“The Home Office say there are 1.5million Muslims but there were 1.5million ten years ago. Since then our brothers in Bethnal Green, Whitechapel and other places have had eight or nine children each. Eight children here, ten children, 15 children. There must be at least six million people.
“It may be by pure conversion that Britain will become an Islamic state. We may never need to conquer it from the outside.” We Need More Muslim Babies … Then We Can Take Over Britain >>> By Anthony France and Vince Soodin | September 13, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
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