Civil Liberty

Approved.

Well, get on with it then…..

The autopsy report cited in the arrest warrant for the man charged with George Floyd’s murder suggested his death was due to hypertension and a heart condition; it was, in fact, caused by police brutality and violation of civil rights, and his health issues, if true, might be just part of that same spectrum of structural violence.

We’ll add the fentanyl intoxication to that structural violence causation, shall we?

Apparently Heinz Kiosk has come back as Rebecca Solnit.

A medical examiner has classified George Floyd’s death as a homicide, saying his heart stopped as police restrained him and suppressed his neck.

“Decedent experienced a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officer(s),” the Hennepin county medical examiner’s office said in a news release. Cause of death was listed as cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression.

Under “other significant conditions”, it said, Floyd suffered from heart disease and hypertension, and listed fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use.

FentanylFentanyl – the dividing line between getting high and suppression of breathing unto death being rather fine with that drug.

Anyway, homicide. No, not the same as murder, murder is a form of homicide. Homicide being the killing of one human by another, which includes, yea, murder, as well as manslaughter and even the entirely justified – because there are such things and whether this is or not is the interesting question – killing of a suspect while trying to arrest them.

I’m generally with Dennis here, this is really about shitty training and oversight of police. But then I think that about the US police anyway.

Lockdown rules are now “unenforceable” and the public will “do what they want to do”, policing leaders have warned.

They said the sunny weekend had been marked by widespread breaches of the lockdown which one senior police figure suggested was “to all intents and purposes ended.”

It may have been – was – possible to get the vast majority of the British to lockdown by telling them about the pandemic. But it never was enforceable, in the sense that the police, the army, or any other set of state power, could have forced adherence to those regulations if the peeps had said bugger it.

By and large it is still true that policing is by consent in the UK….. the police can only get people to do what people agree to do that is.

MPs will be asked to support new quarantine measures for all international arrivals which will give police the power to carry out spot checks at homes and impose £1,000 fines.

The Government is on Friday expected to unveil its long-awaited quarantine plans which will require all arrivals, including returning Britons, to provide an accommodation address where they will self-isolate for 14 days.

Border Force, police and Public Health England (PHE) officers will run and enforce the quarantine where travellers will face spot checks at the addresses they submit on forms on arrival at airports or ports. It is expected there will be about 100 spot checks a day.

Wedge issues.

Currently the police do not have the right/ability to ask who are you, what are you doing here. After this they will – and it’ll not be rescinded, once granted. It’s the start of “Your papers, please”.

A bit circular, the path leading to this, but as good a reason to retain the jury as anyone has ever come up with:

The Jury box is one of the essential pressure release valves that stops us being French.

Not really possible to improve upon that as a justification, is it?

Police have warned lockdown rules are starting to become unenforceable as the public begins returning to work and more stores open.

The Police Federation, which represents frontline officers, said it was “absolute nonsense” for them to be telling sunbathers to move on, when shoppers were queuing with “scarcely a fag packet between them” to buy “non-essential” products at newly-opened DIY stores.

Police chiefs also warned increasing numbers were driving miles to beauty spots in defiance of Government advice to “stay home and stay local” and then sticking official police guidance on their windscreens which stated it was permitted provided their walk was longer than their drive.

To keep the populace cowed you’ve got to have a continuing series of new alarums. Another way to think of it is that we humans adapt to pretty much any circumstance and near immediately start chafing against whatever the restrictions are.

I’ve not really been paying attention to this stuff:

Police shut down an ultra-Orthodox Jewish wedding after officers were called twice to celebrations flouting the lockdown ban.

Metropolitan Police officers warned the families they were breaking government Covid-19 guidelines after neighbours saw the ceremony being set up in Golders Green, London, at 5.30pm on April 22.

But the wedding went ahead and police were called again at 9pm after a large group were seen gathering outside the property. Officers shut down the event at 11pm and issued one fixed penalty notice, but made no arrests.

Are the guidelines law? Things you can be punished for breaking? Or are they what they say they are, guidelines?

The leading light of the young Democratic left has said that it is “legitimate” to discuss an allegation of sexual assault against Joe Biden, threatening the party’s efforts to unite before the presidential election in November.

Free speech means it’s legitimate to talk about any part of the passing scene.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that “silencing of all dissent is a form of gaslighting”

Ah, of course, given that it’s AOC there’s a “but” here. It’s legitimate because reasons rather than just well, it’s legitimate, see? The problem with the first justification being that it’s just as easy to turn around and say that the reasons mean it’s not legitimate….

Re the coronavirus:

This is a political failure on a truly horrific scale.

It’s time for the press to do its job and hold the government to account.

The press are the people who write what fills in the bits between the advertising. Not – despite what always happens with a government to the right of the Socialist Workers Party – the people holding government to account. That’s the job of the Opposition. And – again, contrary to appearances – the press and the opposition to the government are not the same thing.

Has Parliament actually passed a law insisting upon this form of internal passport?

A police force is threatening to fine visitors who enter the county as they warn the public to stay at home during the Easter bank holiday.

Devon and Cornwall police chiefs warned holidaymakers and second home owners caught travelling to the South West for the Easter weekend will be fined and refused entry because of the risk of spreading coronavirus.

Chief Superintendent Ian Drummond-Smith, police commander for Cornwall, said: “Our officers will be patrolling this weekend, firstly on the M5 and A30 in an attempt to prevent visitors from entering the force area, and then locally to enforce the restrictions.

“We will do so in a fair and balanced manner, but travelling down to the West country is a serious breach of these restrictions and those doing so can expect to receive a fine.”

Legally inclined minds would like to know….for this is what it is, an internal passport, like the Soviet propiska.

Canada considering loosening euthanasia restrictions

Anyone likely to desire such at present should just go to a social gathering after all.

Meanwhile, in a far foreign land, entrepreneurial capitalism rides to the rescue. Yay! I have now rented myself a dog. Said crossbreed german shepherd currently looking at an immediate future of being the best fed but most exercised pooch in southern Spain. Plans to tunnel out have been put on hold…

Excellent. Although brother, who is a bit further around the coast, states that he’s only allowed to dog walk within 50 metres of his own house……

With respect to the dog walking form in France:

According to the Press people are renting out their dogs for “accompanied walks”! €8.00 per hour.

From Gruntled 66.

UK to withdraw from European arrest warrant

Excellent.

And yet:

“The agreement should instead provide for fast-track extradition arrangements, based on the EU’s surrender agreement with Norway and Iceland which came into force in 2019, but with appropriate further safeguards for individuals beyond those in the European arrest warrant.”

As long as that includes the usual extradition rules, why not. Must be a crime here as well as a crime there, there must be sufficient evidence for there to be a case to answer.

First, we never censor content. Our powers to sanction broadcasters who breach our rules apply only after a programme has aired. In fact, the clear, fair and respected code that we enforce on TV and radio acts as a strong deterrent against poor behaviour.

So your rules do censor what people say then?

The Labour party has formally adopted a definition of Islamophobia, arguing that it is vital to tackling the rise of far-right racism.

A party spokesperson said its national executive committee had adopted the working definition produced by the all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims “to help tackle Islamophobia, build a common understanding of its causes and consequences, and express solidarity with Muslim communities”.

The definition reads: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”

Islam is a belief system, one open to humans of all races, tribes and nations, closed to none. It’s exactly the opposite of any form of race or racism. So too therefore must be any criticism of it.

The government is to introduce emergency legislation to remove the possibility for terrorists to be released early automatically without risk assessment by the parole board. This will apply to serving prisoners.

Of course, the idea that people are released automatically is itself silly. Why not just shorten the original sentence?

Inside Clearview, the secretive facial recognition start-up that can reveal your identity from single photo

Such a horror, eh? Getting a machine to do what an untrained Plod can manage.

“Here’s a picture. Know ‘im?”

“Jim down the petrol station Sah!”

There are indeed things to think about. Like machines being able to do this can be produced in their millions and thus we can be id’d walking down the street – each and every street. But it’s the deployment that is the potential problem. Not the being able to recognise from a single picture.

The Bank of England could face a legal challenge from vegans over its use of animal fats in banknotes, lawyers warned after a landmark ruling on Friday.

An employment judge found that holding a sincere belief in “ethical veganism” should be given the same legal protection under the Equality Act as that given to Christians, Jews and Muslims.

Because both Jews and Muslims would already be against the use of pig fat (also, Hindus beef) and they are protected philosophical beliefs and yet they don’t give rise to grounds to sue the BoE.

QED