Julian Assange, Australian-born former computer hacker and founder of Wikileaks, claimed asylum with the London Embassy of Ecuador on June 19th and was subsequently granted his request on August 16th, in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces alleged rape and sexual assault investigation.
Prior to Ecuador’s granting of asylum to Assange, British officials threatened to raid Ecuador’s embassy and arrest Assange, which prompted Ana Alban, the Ecuadorian ambassador to London who told BBC radio in an interview broadcast last Sunday, that the threat was “the biggest mistake” ever committed by Britain since she became ambassador. She added that Britain still acted like an empire and that we should learn to be good boys during our stay in their country.
Crime is an issue that matters to all of us, as stated by UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron in a long-planned speech to the Centre for Social Justice.
He added that the debate on crime and punishment have reached to the point that it became too “black and white”, which translated to layman’s term as “lock them up or let them out”, “be tough or act soft”, blame society or blame the criminals.
Paul Don Smith, who has been part of the graffiti scene since the 1980s, signed the eye-catching, thought-provoking and mysterious memorial for the police officers shot dead in Manchester last month.
The mural, in honor for the bravery of the slain police officers, depicted flowing tears, in blue ink, from a crowned Queen, and was seen in display opposite the Pop up Cinema, theatre and market at Portobello Green.
The Village Club situated on the Barrow Hill Estate in St. John’s Wood, a haven for 32 members of frail and disabled elderly people, was proposed to be closed by Westminster Council. The end result will leave them without a place for their weekly activities in the immediate area.
The club, a long-established lifeline for older people who would otherwise be alone and isolated, is set to be turned into an office.
Founder’s Sweepers, the community litter pick event, celebrated its second year anniversary in commemoration of Hall & Woodhouse’s Founder’s Day, on the morning of Saturday, June 16, 2012.
It was such a success on its initial launching last year that it was repeated this year. More than 250 team members from Hall & Woodhouse managed public houses from Dartmoor to Twickenham, including the Ship and Shovel in Charring Cross, St. Stephen’s Tavern in Westminster, the Old Nick in Holborn and the Shaston Arms off Carnaby Street, all stopped pulling pints in the morning and took part in this event aimed at keeping their neighborhoods clean.
Marina Chapman, born in about 1950, kidnapped when she was 5 years of age and abandoned in the jungle, decided to publish her book entitled “The Girl with No Name” and to tell the story of her ordeal to help highlight the horrors of human trafficking in South America.
Knight in Sordid Armour Featured
A knighthood is of course the greatest national honour attributed to people in our country. Although critics will say otherwise, they’re not often given lightly and those who receive them have generally achieved a great deal throughout the course of their lives and have often benefitted society through their works, most often through charitable side-projects. Despite the appearance of becoming a celebrity worshipping institution, knighthoods are most often given to celebrities who have used their fame for good.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s work as a football manager by itself may not seem knighthood worthy when looked at as the isolation of a man doing his job well for a few decades, but the fact that his work has contributed to the propulsion of a club – who themselves, as many football clubs do, do a lot of good for the community and charities around the world – into a position as one of the world’s leading clubs, then his ‘services to football’ all of a sudden seem worthy of such praise. Sir Ian Botham’s charitable exploits through his fundraising walks, the impact of Sir Clive Woodward’s victorious England side in enthusing youngsters to play rugby (as well as his work with Wooden Spoon) and Sir David Attenborough’s years of service in the BBC and environment causes, all of these knights of the order have merited their position through charitable work and the positive impacts of their professional excellence.
Newsnight Chief Resigns Featured
Peter Rippon “is stepping aside” as Newsnight editor following reports that Rippon dropped a report into the claims that Sir Jimmy Savile had sexually abused multiple people while at the BBC. Mr Rippon denied that he was pressured into the decision and claimed it was due to editorial reasons. The BBC issued a correction to Rippon’s claims on his blog about why he dropped the report. It said the blog was “inaccurate or incomplete in some respects”.
The BBC released a statement which said the following, "The BBC regrets these errors and will work with the Pollard Review to assemble all relevant evidence to enable the review to determine the full facts. In addition, the BBC has announced that Peter Rippon is stepping aside with immediate effect from his post while the review by Nick Pollard... into the management of Newsnight's investigation, is carried out."
The hypocrisy of the boycott Featured
The story that will never end. One day it will end and it will hopefully end positively, but racism in British football, as a story has become tedious.
Racism in world football is still a prevalent issue that must be addressed – the outrageous abuse in Serbia to England’s under 21s suggests as much – but racism in British football had largely been defeated until incidents within the last 12 months. Back with a bang came racism in football via the mouths of Terry and Suarez, reminders of British football’s difficult recent history immediate. But the incidents are remarkable and that in itself is a good thing. Whereas such verbal abuse would have been common only a couple of decades ago, now they are rare and received with national outcry. Fan racism has significantly declined too, with incidents such as the fan’s racist abuse to Oldham player Tom Adeyemi at Anfield last season leading to the fan being arrested again being a rare incident.
Griffin's Troublesome Tweets Featured
Grand shock horror, Nick Griffin is in the news for the wrong reasons. This time the BNP leader is in trouble for his antagonistic tweets towards the gay couple who won their case against B&B owners for discrimination. The case was a significant one for LGBTQ rights and although the case isn’t actually overly simple, Griffin’s simplistic and aggressive response to it is shameful. The case is complicated because it also brings the rights of property owners into account, as well as reigniting the Christian ethical debate on the matter – it should be noted that the B&B owners have refused unmarried couples the right to share a double bed, the same refusal as what befell Michael Black and John Morgan. But the hostility and self-indulgence of Griffin’s tweets are just embarrassing.