Taking Liberties Blogger Outing...

There will be a bit of a blogger outing to see Taking Liberties today. Meet at 4.15pm outside Brixton Ritzy for the 4.30pm showing if you fancy it, and fancy a pint afterwards.

The film opened last night and I can't stress this enough, it is bums on seats over the opening weekend that determines whether films sink or swim.

Therefore if you are vaguely thinking of going to see it, it would be dead helpful if you could act on that urge over the next 48 hours. Cinema listings nationally here. Site here.

This is a really important film and it needs to reach more than the usual activists and politically-aware bloggers. Take your mum and your little brother. Take your flatmate who moans that it's too muggy to sit outside. Take your mate who chunters when he reads the Sunday papers. Take the person you have a crush on. (Getting mutually outraged means passion rises over a drink afterwards and you'll also look very smart and zeitgeisty. Wah-hey). Look, please just go and see it. It's not exactly hard work. It's a damn entertaining movie. And your grandchildren will thank you for it one day.

Don't just take my word for it...
'Shocking, extraordinary - pure dynamite!' - The Times
'Four stars' Time Out
'Watch it and get angry!' Mirror
'Cheerful, polemical and exhilerating' - The Guardian
'If you have any interest in politics whatsoever, it's a film you shouldn't miss.' Eye for Film
'Enthralling and cheeky, it will make you laugh and chatter long after you've left the cinema' - Metro '
'Five stars' Real Movie News
'Bold, fearless and blackly funny, this vital film should be compulsory viewing' Dazed and Confused
'Fast-paced and thoroughly entertaining - an excellent piece of film-making'- The Scotsman
'One of the most important films of the year - Daily Mirror
'Powerful - two thumbs up'- Sky Movies
'Five stars' - BBC movies
'A fascinating, provocactive movie - 8/10' - Daily Express
'A powerful, riveting, moving film' - Mail on Sunday
'This film is pure genius' - Film Exposed magazine
'You'll be shocked and outraged by the stories contained in this fascinating film' - New

See you there, freedom fans!

Lowde in custody

Update here so anyone clicking a button will find updated post instead. Buttons can now come down, hopefully word will spread. All Lowde update posts on my blog now deleted.
Thanks VERY much everyone. Normal life can re-commence. I am so bloody relieved.

Back in a bit...

Normal blogging service will be resumed in a few days. I am having a break. In the meantime, a reminder....

C4 and conspiracy theories

I just checked the blog traffic and found a bunch of people coming over from C4 news, not sure how they got here as I can't actually see a link. Hello to you all, anyway. I was out 'til late yesterday , and I forgot to video C4 news last night so I missed it. A researcher from C4 news did call me yesterday afternoon about the report, and ask if I could help - and Darshna Soni, who did the report, talked to me a couple of times about it, once when we met up at the Old Bailey during the Crevice trial ending, and last week. I gave C4 Nafeez Ahmed's details instead, yesterday afternoon, and said he would be a good person to have on the programme.

But I just watched and Nafeez wasn't on, which is a shame. I didn't want to be on, firstly because I am not a Muslim and the programme is about Muslims' views, secondly because it was not directly about the need for an independent inquiry, which is what I specifically campaign about, when asked, with other people directly involved in 7/7, and thirdly because if I worry that I had been on, I would have been deluged with yet more long emails from presumably well-meaning people trying to convert me to their conspiracy theories, which I am totally sick and tired of hearing about, after a year of it. And contrary to a few people's accusations, no, I don't rush off and agree to do every single media approach, and I don't especially like being the one in the spotlight just because I have a blog that's easy to find when you type in keywords. Especially when it brings me unwelcome attention, and when it takes up lots of my free time.

(Re. the various alternative theories about 7/7: I have looked at them all. Yes, all of them. In detail. For over a year. I simply do not find them credible. They are not congruent with the evidence of my own experience, and more importantly, they contradict the evidence I have heard from the police, other credible sources and from many other survivors and eye-witnesses. I am not a fan of the Blair administration, even though I have voted Labour all my life. Yes, I am calling for a 7/7 inquiry, with others affected. But I am not going to go into why I do not believe the conspiracy theories here, again, as that is a red rag to some people's bull.)

You can watch the C4 report here, (and find lots of links to conspiracy theory sites where you can chat about beliefs that the four mass-murderers, MSK, Tanweer, Hussein and Lindsay were all as innocent as new-born lambs, and the Government planted the bombs, with the people who run the websites, if you like that sort of thing. I don't. I used to find it upsetting. Now I find it wearying)

The report covered the prevalence of conspiracy theories and the rising levels of distrust within 'the Muslim community' concerning 7/7 and the Government's anti-terror policies, the breakdown in trust between communities and the Government. A survey of 500 Muslims ( not a massive sample size but reasonable) provided the basis for the report, with Darshna travelling round the UK to talk to some Muslims. Three quarters don't seem to be buying the conspiracy theories, but a worrying 24% do. And as always, it's the minority who get focused on.

It has becoming increasingly clear to me over the last two years that the frequent media hysteria about Muslims, the language used to talk about terrorism, and the disproportionate amount of airtime given to fringe extremists is fanning the flames of paranoia and mistrust and making things worse for us all. I write about this subject often, on this, my personal blog, and I raise my voice in protest, like many other bloggers. I say, again and again, that we should protect civil liberties, that we should avoid stigmatising many because of the actions of a few, that we should not pass hasty draconian laws and that we should treat terrorism as criminal activity, not make 7/7 a special case that necessitates shredding the constitution and causing people to live fearfully. That way anger, alienation, and more violence lies.

I say that a proper inquiry into 7/7 would help to heal these divisions and damp down the wild speculation in which conspiracy theories thrive. And I do not see anything healthy about the growth of the conspiracy theories. How can you work together to solve a problem if you will not even admit that it exists?

It is also obvious to me that the Blair foreign policy has raised the temperature and fuelled the anger (and indeed Blair was warned of this likely consequence before the Iraq invasion in a buried report, Young Muslims and Extremism).

I believe that we need to work together, to heal the divisions and mistrust that are running deep. That means fighting back against the spreading virus of denial and paranoia, which only disempowers people and makes them feel like helpless angry victims. Trying instead to make communication and policies fairer, clearer, more just and transparent and accountable. Looking for common ground. Remembering the majority of people are not convinced by conspiracy theories - that they only want to live and work peaceably together as neighbours and get on with their ordinary lives. But that is not an exciting news story.

I think having an inquiry into 7/7 would be a good way to kickstart the process of healing by opening the debate about why and how home-grown terrorism came at us out of our midst, and I also think that more widely-debated and more ethical foreign policies, trade policies, social and domestic policies would mean less violence and crime. Less hateful hysteria given column inches and airtime, less of the macho politics of fear would help too.

There are no quick fixes. There is a lot to do to make things better, and we can all help to make common cause for peace and justice, or just a quiet life. But I do not see why focusing on our divisions and fears will make us stronger. I would rather look at what draws us together. I would rather walk to my local shops, where almost all the shops are Muslim owned, walk past the women in headscarves and veils, the men gossipping outside the coffee shops, past the Mosque where hundreds worship every Friday, and smile at people, because we are all neighbours, and not be angry, or afraid.

UPDATE: Blood and Treasure , and Radical Muslim on the subject

BritBlog Round Up

The roving BritBlog round up is over at Philobiblon this week, with the best of British blogging as usual. Enjoy.

NPD and cyberstalking

So good it gets its own link, because people need to know why. Comments & further discussion of the psychology of stalking welcomed over at Ministry of Truth (rather than here, as I am having a breather from it all, whilst the police crack on)

Brown on terrorism

'Because we believe in the civil liberties of the individual, we must also strengthen accountability to parliament and independent bodies overseeing the police, not subjecting people to arbitary treatment. The world has changed, so we need tougher security. We must recognise there is a group of people we must isolate who are determined to attack. Our security must be strengthened, but we must also strengthen the accountability of our institutions.''
- Gordon Brown

Well, that sounds quite good - tough, yet caring, firm but fair. But what does it actually mean? Is our new PM-to-be ambidextrous in his approach? Right hand, a clunking great fist on terror, left hand, tenderly smoothing our anxious brows, which frown unhappily with increasing concern over the erosion of ancient liberties, and the whirlwind of legislation passed in the aftermath of 'the war on terror'?
Or is it just more New Labour window dressing whilst further freedoms disappear in the name of security?

Brown's speech is being widely reported as being 'tough on terrorism' in today's headlines; the timing is, of course, politically expedient. It is a thumbed nose to Peter Hain, running for deputy Labour leader, and a display of teeth at the Labour left. It is also pouring salt into the wounds of the Tories, struggling for over a month now with the fallout over grammar schools, and Cameron now being called ''delusional'' and ''an absolute prat'' by Council leaders. A new Sunday Telegraph poll has Mr Brown seen as ''more experienced, strong and competent'', and he is marginally favoured to be prime minister. Making hay of the disarray, Brown is hardly likely to do anything that could be interpreted as being ''soft on terrorism'', but it is interesting that this speech does nod to civil liberties and checks and balances: he has clearly learned from the opprobrium being heaped on his outgoing nemesis, Blair.

The charges against the Blair government vary: that they indulge in ''macho posturing'' with regard to law and order (Hain) and they use the politics of fear to exert control and avoid criticism, particularly of foreign policy, that the current PM's style of Government is unaccountable, authoritarian in tendency, and reliant on spin and media management to cover up its flaws.

There is growing public muttering against 'house arrest' and new police 'stop and question' powers, widespread disbelief at an outgoing PM who says that three suspects escaping control orders are ''a symptom of a society which put civil liberties before fighting terror.'' Writing in the Sunday Times last week, the prime minister described this as "misguided and wrong" and said prioritising a terror suspect's right to traditional civil liberties was "a dangerous misjudgement", (!) - and there is further concern at the latest antics from out-going tough-guy Reid

(For heaven's sake. Sometimes I wonder if Reid and Blair have swivel-eyed chats that go like this:

''It's okay to treat terrorists differently to normal humans, they have, y'know, different DNA. Like crabs''
''Yeah, terrorists aren't like us. They're vermin. Lock them up without charge, without trial. Torture them. Or get someone else to do it for us. That will show them not to attack our freedoms'')

So Brown's tough on terror speech where he does go on quite a bit about civil liberties is in stark contrast to the chest-thumping rhetoric that has been coming out of the Home Office for the last year, and the martyred 'look, because I said so and I just know I'm right' dramatics coming out of Number 10 for longer. What has Brown got for us then?

Intercept evidence used in trials. This might help those trapped in the no-man's land of house arrest without enough evidence to bring them to trial. The Security Services, however, aren't keen. The police are in favour. I go with the police. Show the evidence.It's a fundemental part of what we do: we don't lock people up or detain people without it. Not for more than 28 days, which is quite long enough and far longer than most places.

Making terrorism an aggravating factor in sentencing, giving judges greater powers to punish terrorism within the framework of the existing criminal law.I don't see the point of this at all: we already have perfectly-solid laws against conspiracy to commit murder and cause explosions/mayhem, etc. (Dhiren Barot got 40 years for plotting acts of terrorism after all.) The point about terrorism is that it is criminal. Why make it special and different? It makes it dangerously glamorous. Murder is murder. Fraud, extortion, kidnapping...we've already got them taped, legally. I do wish Labour would get over this knee-jerk legislation habit. Particularly since the current Anti-terrorism laws have repeatedly been used to harass and threaten peaceful protesters. Have Judges actually requested these powers? Nope, not as far as I can see. So what is the point of it and where are we going with this? Not somewhere I want to end up.

Allow the police to continue to interrogate terror suspects even after they have been charged with a criminal offence. Nooooo. Arrest subject, provide lawyer whilst questioning them. Produce enough evidence to charge, or release. Once charged, provide representation and await fair trial, whilst continuing to treat suspect humanely. This stunt is completely contradictory to the the principle of habeas corpus. (''Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you? Did she die in vain?''). And it sounds like an attempt to get ''90 days'' in via the back door to me...

Oh, hang on, belt and braces. Increase the number of days a terror suspect can be held without charge from 28 days to 90 days. Grrr. I have already banged on about this and I have not seen any evidence to change my mind about why this is dangerous, and insufferable to freedom-loving citizens.

Increasing the security budget, which has already doubled to more than £2bn a year after 11 September 2001, in the forthcoming spending review when a single security budget will be unveiled. Well, as long as we know what it is being used for...but do we?

Give MPs and peers greater powers to scrutinise the work of the security and intelligence services, allowing them to cross-examine the heads of MI5 and MI6 in public. Accountability and transparency, I am in favour of. But I am also worried about whether it is a way of avoiding an inquiry into 7/7, which I and others are campaigning for. Last month, representatives of the survivors and relatives of 7/7 handed in a letter asking for an inquiry into 7/7 to the Home Office. We heard nothing back and so we chased last week. We got a fax back at the end of last week, and it was not exactly greeted with rapture by the group. I will blog more about that after the weekend, when all the group have had a chance to air their thoughts privately, and after we have had further discussions with Oury Clark, our lawyers.

After the Crevice trial revealed M15 had lead 7/7 bomber MSK in their sights, and let him go again, Blair said that the ISC, (the Intelligence and Security Committee) would re-examine the evidence that came to light (after the Crevice trial of terrorists planning to attack targets like Bluewater and the Ministry of Sound). This was his response to calls in the House, and by us, for an independent inquiry into 7/7, which was chaired by someone outside of Government and the Security Services, with the power to compel evidence and cross examine witnesseses and make recommendations.

But the ISC is not independent. It is comprised of hand-picked MPS who answer to the PM. It didn't ask the right questions. It missed out of lots of things and exonerated the Security Services and its report read as if it had been spoon-fed whole paragraphs by M15 itself. It was, and is, a pathetic substitute for a proper inquiry. And everyone saw that after the Crevice trial ended. So...

Brown will now give Parliament a greater role in overseeing the intelligence services. He will place the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, which reports to the Prime Minister, on a similar basis as parliamentary select committees, which are acccountable to MPs.

It's a start. But it's not what we're asking for, is it?

If 21st century terrorism is such a terrible thing, so different to the threat of Nazi invasion or Russian nuclear strikes or IRA terrorism, so terrible that we can shred the constitution over it in a mad rush, and decide it's okay to hold British citizens without charge under house arrest, or in police cells for up to three months, continue to question them after they have been charged, make everyone carry ID cards, and submit to questioning in the streets by police about what they are up to, and strengthen sentencing powers by popping the word 'terrorism' into the charge sheet, then why can't we have an inquiry into 7/7?

I have some high hopes for Mr Brown, but that speech concerns me. It's all very well to go round the country ''listening'', but I hope that he doesn't let me, and others down, by delivering more of the liberty-restricting over-reaction of his predecessors, instead of looking at why we face this threat.

Those who prize security over liberty deserve neither, after all. Nor do they get either for the most part. Fingers crossed.

UPDATE: Obsolete on the subject. Iain Dale on Brown-spin.

Family 'blessed by Allah in tomato'

Quality local journalism.

Hurray! War hero given leave to remain

...and quite right too. Story here.
A massive response from the public, lots of this sort of thing, petitions, pressure, people power - and lo, justice and right prevails. I love it when good things happen, for all the right reasons. People are amazing, and compassion and natural justice are some of the most powerful things in the world. And now I hope with all my heart that that Alan comes home, safe.

Candles in the dark can be seen half a mile away.

A light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness overcometh it not

Taking Liberties - a reminder

Ace film Taking Liberties opens next Friday. If lots of people go and see it on the opening weekend, it will get wider distribution across the UK. This would be a Good Thing, because the more people know about what is slowly happening to erode our birthright of freedom, the better. I have already written about it here, and I urge you to go and see it if you can. It's excellent. Here are the cinema listings.

UPDATE: Woot! Check it... BBC , Shadows on the Wall, ('unambiguous and urgent-and unmissable.' ), Londonist ('a depressing picture but is pretty darn good fun to watch; something of a paradox'), and do visit the Director's rather good blog

There is a bit of a blogger outing to see it on Saturday 9th at Brixton Ritzy's, followed by pintage, and possibly curry, so you can come to that if you want, ( email me, rachelnorthlondon AT gmail DOT com) - sadly, stalkertastic latest means I can't advertise movements, etc) or check the website for listings, which are being added all the time. Or you can beat the crowds and see it early...

DON'T MISS OUT ON AN EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW SCREENING ON TUESDAY 5TH JUNE, 6.30PM AT CLAPHAM PICTUREHOUSE
FOLLOWED BY A LIVE PANEL DISCUSSION
Names Confirmed so far:
KEN LOACH, Film Director
SHAMI CHAKRABARTI, Director of Liberty
DAVID MORRISSEY, Actor & Narrator of the Film
RIZ AHMED, Actor
NICK CLEGG, Lib Dem MP Sheffield Hallam & Shadow Home Secretary
TO BOOK YOUR TICKETS PLEASE CALL 08708 505 703 OR VISIT WWW.PICTUREHOUSES.CO.UK/TAKINGLIBERTIES

Also TUESDAY 5TH JUNE, 6.30PM AT GREENWICH PICTUREHOUSE
Preview Screening of Taking Liberties followed by a Director's Q&A; with Chris Atkins
TO BOOK YOUR TICKETS PLEASE CALL 08708 505 703 OR VISIT WWW.PICTUREHOUSES.CO.UK/TAKINGLIBERTIES

Interactive fun! Here is where you can download a banner for your website.

There's more! Here is where you can BUY THE BOOK!
And what a top book it is too, by Chris Atkins, Sarah Bee and Fiona Button.
Quick, Amazon are selling out! Get your copy right now this second or gnash your teeth ( until new ones come in)

*Earworms and guilty pleasures and country roads

For the last three days I have driven J mad, by being obsessed with John Denver's Take Me Home Country Roads. I walk about the house singing it. I belt out it when I am in the shower in a semi-blue grass yowl, I sing it under my breath a third above or below, harmonising in my head. I play all sorts of different versions when I am working, and sing along to it. I have no idea what has come over me; it is slightly bizarre. But I am loving it at the moment.

In my dreams now, I keep returning to the landscapes, the country roads and the secret tracks of my childhood; riding again on the cycling adventures when I would set off with a Mars bar and an apple, then dump the bike in a ditch, crashing through cow parsley with muddy knees on 'Indian' hunts with my friends, or crouch to make witches' potions and ladies' perfumes, out of crushed flower petals that stained my fingers, and blackberries that darkened my mouth.

Night after night, I find myself dreaming that I am wide-eyed and wandering on Swardeston Common, looking for the tracks of foxes and badgers, feet crushing vetch, and eyebright and red clover. I stroke the soft noses of Bramble and Bracken, the cobby, good-natured riding school ponies, as they graze in their paddock, on whose back I would vault bareback and steal a bridle-less ride, twenty seven years ago. I run again beneath the big Norfolk skies that I never noticed back in those days, because my eyes were always looking at the detail at my feet; the flowers, the toadstools, the bugs, the bees; looking for places to hide with a book, near enough to hear people, quiet and hidden enough to not be found.

I only noticed the skies at night, when the stars were so bright, so obvious, that every child in my class could show you Orion, Pegasus, Perseus, Andromeda, and the Milky Way which splashed a broad ribbon of brilliants too close together to pick apart after moon rise; on some nights you could almost read road signs by starlight. That was when we would look out for asteroids. If you saw one, you had to hold your breath and make a wish. If you wished without holding your breath, your enemy would use your wish against you.

The John Denver song is about West Virginia, not Norfolk. But country music is huge in Norfolk. I hated it when I was a teenager, sulking under the restrictions of life in a small village, pining to run away to London, to wear lace leggings, kohl my eyes, and backcomb my hair like the girls in Just Seventeen. But now I wake up singing Take me Home, Country Roads.

What songs are your guilty pleasures?

*an earworm is a song that burrows into your head and won't leave you be.

St. Custards returns online!

I am overjoyed to have found this, one of my favourite childhood books - and now a website. Gaze upon it in wonder, poxy fules!

The cat's (satin) pyjamas

Congratulations and celebrations and jubilations across the nations to the winners of

A Fistful of Euros 2007 Satin Pyjamas Awards!

Best Writing: Le Blagueur à Paris

Best Weblog from the UK: Johnny Billericay

Best Weblog about Southeastern Europe: Balkan Baby

Best Weblog about the CIS: New Eurasia

Best Expatriate Weblog: Isoglossia

Best Personal Weblog: Petite Anglaise

Best Political Weblog: Slugger O’ Toole

Best Weblog from Germany: Ahoi Polloi

Best Weblog from France: Eolas

Best Culture Weblog: DA…NCE

Best Non-European Weblog: Pharyngula

Best Expert or Scholar Weblog: Real Climate

Best Economics Weblog: New Economist

Best Food Weblog: Chocolate and Zucchini

Most Underappreciated Weblog: Kosmopolit

Best New Weblog: Not Saussure

The 2007 Satin Pajama for Lifetime Achievement: Mick Fealty, founder of Slugger O’Toole

And finally…
Best European Weblog of 2007: Petite Anglaise

Cake all round.

I am particularly chuffed that blogmates Petite, Jonny and NotSaussure have triumphed so triumphantly. Some nice news on another vile rainy day. (The heating is on, and it's bloody well almost June. Tsk.)

Books and links

A book-orientated day today. In Search of Adam by Caroline Smailes is a book I am fascinated by and really looking forward to reading, especially after reading this review.

I still have a giant pile of books to read and review, even after a marathon read-a-thon on honeymoon, so if I have promised to review your book and not done so yet, huge apologies. I still have a lot of thank you letters to write to wedding guests as well, and links to add for the Find FJL! bloggers' campaign, so am very sorry about that too, and will sort it as as soon as I can.

I spent the whole morning with Peter Zimonjic, who is writing a book about 7/7, Into the Darkness, (out in October). I was helping him with the Kings' Cross chapters. And then I read the weekend's Sunday Times, whilst I travelled back on the tube, and seethed about the new terror laws, ( about which more later because I have to go out now and I am still too fed up to write calmly about it). I was so sad when I read this story about all the warning signs of extremism in MSK, lead 7/7 bomber, as described by his brother.

Godammit, though, it is so heartbreaking. So many chances. Such a life, so many lives, that could have been saved if something had been different. An angry, passionate, arrogant young man. A family row. A fork in the road. And a decision made, time passing, then 52 dead, 800 injured. But nobody wanted to hear what was going on: the fizzing anger, the egotistical despair, the extremist gang of new 'brothers'. Until it was too late.

I rushed about all afternoon today, took a lot of calls, said no, I can't talk to you, not yet, I am so sorry, please hang fire, please wait 'til I can tell you it all. Then I spoke to the police again. And now I am rushing off again to teach beginner's dance class and I can't find any of my kit and argh, why is my life never quiet?

BritBlog round up...

This week's best of the British blogs can be found at Liberal England. I liked the Sunday Telegraph's front page yesterday, about Blair and HM the Queen. I liked Chicken Yoghurt's post on the subject even more...


''So how do you think the New Labour high command will do it, as they are wont to do? Will we shortly be reading in a sympathetic newspaper about a ’semi-detached’ queen with ‘psychological flaws‘, perhaps? How about destroying her career with trumped up charges?
One’s republican fervour wavers momentarily.''

Another thoughtful post by the excellent Not Saussure here, on Blair and civil liberties. You can vote for NotSaussure at the Satin Pyjams Awards, where he is excitingly in the lead for Best New Weblog.

Grim weather, bah. Barbecue rained off, deadline looms, hangover pounds. Have a nice Bank Holiday Monday. I bet the weather immediately becomes fab again as soon as we are all back in the office.

Cyber-stalking: Your help is needed

UPDATE: If you came here via one of the 'Find Lowde!' blog buttons, please contact the blog-button owner and let them know it can now come down. The convicted harasser, Felicity Jane Lowde has been found and is now in prison awaiting sentencing on 28 June.

Following tip-offs from members of the public who were aware of the Find the Stalker blogger campaign, Felicity Jane Lowde was arrested in a cyber cafe in Brick Lane, E1, on Wednesday 6th June, and taken into police custody overnight.

The next day she was brought before a District Judge at Stratford Crown Court.

In Court, the District Judge noted Lowde's previous convictions and jail sentence for (section 2) Harassment. She also noted Lowde's repeated breach of bail conditions ( not to contact her victim, not to use the internet), and her failure to appear at court for her trial on April 2nd. Lowde was represented by a duty solicitor in court.

When asked by the Judge why she did not attend her trial, Lowde claimed that ''a friend''' had passed the court a note to explain her absence on the day of trial. Under questioning by the Judge, Lowde was unable to name the friend. Lowde then admitted she herself had gone to court on the day of trial, got to within 100 yards of the door, and given a court official a note. Under further questioning by the Judge, this note turned out to be from an osteopath in Hampstead, which stated that she was ''exhausted''.

''A bone doctor?'' inquired the Judge, in apparent disbelief.

The Judge then noted that Lowde had provided no medical note to cover her absence and was unable to explain why she did not enter the building to explain to the court that she felt ill on the day of her trial.

The Court next heard how, after her conviction in absentia on April 2, Lowde had continued to send and publish abusive messages using the internet, had left her home in Oxford, and had gone on the run to avoid arrest after a bench warrant was issued, and was now living less than 5 miles from the named victim in the case.

A surety was offered for Lowde's bail, but the Judge said that bail was not appropriate, and that she was minded to look at the maximum custodial sentence instead. The Judge also wondered aloud why the charge was not made out as section 4 Harassment.

Lowde was told that she would be remanded in custody until 28th June, pending psychiatric reports and pre-sentence reports. The Judge said that in her view if bail was given, Lowde would not come to court, and would continue to commit offences. The Judge asked for 'a list of orders necessary to be prepared, that reflected the seriousness of the matter', and for these to be ready on 28 June. FJL was then taken from court back into custody; as she left she shouted angrily at the Judge that the court 'was a farce'.

For me, I don't feel like dancing. I am just thankful this is over, (or almost over, because I am sure Lowde will try to appeal her conviction, and her sentence too, when she is sentenced.)

But for now, she is in prison til 28 June and so she cannot continue to escalate the harassment and threats any more. I feel safe at last, and hopefully the psychiatric reports will be able to tell if she can be treated for an illness and why she has chosen to behave in this way.

I am now going to spend the rest of the morning getting in touch with everyone and asking them to take their buttons down so we can draw a line under this horrible business. I don't want to be reminded of Lowde, or associated with her in any way, and all I have ever wanted is for me, my family and friends to be left in peace and for the harassment to end. I've removed most of the posts about FJL that I made after I asked for help. Time to forget her, and move on.

Thank you all so very much for the amazing support that you all showed. I hope that you are as pleased as J and I, my family and friends, and the other Lowde victims, that all this is finally over.

I still can't actually believe it, after a year of this, it hasn't sunk in that it has stopped.

My very grateful thanks to

...The Met and Thames Valley police, especially Matt Weinert and Colin Brooker, the officers in charge of the investigation,

... J and P, who first spotted Lowde in E1, to the landlord of the White Hart in Whitechapel High St and his helpful regulars who passed on FJL sightings to the police, the owner of Cafe Naz Express cybercafe Brick Lane, the landlord of the Princess Alice, the I.P catchers and investigating bloggers and the Oxford Mail online team who all helped to track Lowde down, so the police could arrest her.

... the Protection From Harassment Act,

...and finally, a big grateful cheers to all the linkers, supporting bloggers, and to all those friends who emailed and texted and called and popped round to keep me going. Not Saussure, Chicken Yoghurt, Jailhouse Lawyer, Rachel-Catherine, Jottings, Netherworld, DavBlog, Iain Dale, . Blairwatch, The Splund, Devil's Kitchen , Thehardsell, Anthoninus, Nation of Shopkeepers , Is there more to life than shoes? Ellee Seymour, An Englishman'sCastle , Mike Power, Matt GB, EverythingIsElectric, TFP Girl Friday, The ThunderDragon, The Appalling Strangeness, TenPercent, Allan Andrews, Bill Cameron, Mike Rouse Diary, Anne in Oxfordshire, Sally in Norfolk , Remittance Man, A Conservative blog, Obsolete , Pickled Politics, Westminster Wisdom, Mr Eugenides, Looking for a Voice, The Sunday Telegraph, JonnyB, D-Notice, Girl with a one track mind, Goldfish and Paracetamol, Henry North London, The Lone Voice, Ballots Balls and Bikes, Bill Cameron, Teewee Wonders, The Secret Life of a Man, RockMother, Rippernotes, Metafilter, Uncool, Confessions of a Psychotherapist, Miramar Mike, Ally at Ducking for Apples, Reactionary Snob, Tampon Teabag, Fessing Author, Our Albion, Marty21, The Last Bus Home, Wonkos World, Clairwil, NeueAarbeitMachtFrei, London Underground Life, Vecosys.com, Life particles, Andy Ramblings, Bread and Circuses, Daily Mail, The Times, Tim Worstall, GrannyP, the Duruti Column, the British Bullshit Foundation, Tygerland, In Search of Adam, Rullsenberg Rules, Journal of a Headbanger, Zinnia Cyclamen, Richardipus, FunnySparky, The PoorMouth, MonkeyMuck, Plant Porn and Pussycats, Europhobia, LeonieKate, Preoccupations-on-Tumblr, Careless Carer, She.Goddess, PracticeBlog, BBC Radio 5Live Pods&Blogs, EineKleineNichtmusik, Gary Andrews, Pigeon Tendencies, Toblog, InSearchOfAdam, Cunningtitle, Ignorminious, Jesus is coming, look busy!, The Poet Laura-eate , The Life of a Lady, The Oxford Mail, Sim-O, Böbø, Westpierwords,Cultureforall, TheLastBoyScout, Liberty's Requiem, TheLoneVoice, A Girl's Life, Groundswill, Tigerpants Nation, Lionheart's Lair, MarkFitchett, Sunday Spaghetti, Moonbotica, The Thinker at Travelling Book, Not Saussure again, Tom Tyler, Ministry of Truth, (with must-read post on narcissistic personality disorder), CoralPoetry, Something Fishy, PigDogF*cker, Damon Lord's Irregular Blog , brilliantcheers, swimmer6foot4 , blazing catfur

Wow.

The End ( I hope. Oh, I hope so. Fingers crossed)

London Assembly calls for independent 7/7 inquiry.

The London Assembly today supported a motion calling for an urgent independent inquiry into what information security services had available to them in the lead up to the terrorist atrocities on London’s transport network on 7 July 2005.
The full text of the motion reads as follows:
‘This Assembly recognises that the conviction and subsequent sentencing of Omar Khyam, Waheed Mahmood, Jawad Akbar, Salahuddin Amin and Anthony Garcia on 30th April 2007 has led to intense media coverage of links between this group of terrorists intent on causing massive loss of life and those who carried out the suicide bombings of 7th July 2005.

Given the conflicting accounts of what happened in the months leading up to 7th July 2005, this Assembly fully endorses calls for an independent inquiry to be conducted as a matter of urgency to ensure that public confidence is retained within the security services who continue to protect the interests of London and Londoners.’

Richard Barnes AM, who proposed the motion said: “As well as those who lost family, and those who survived, all the communities of London deserve answers about how an atrocity as terrible as the 7 July bombings was able to occur right on our doorstep.''
“We have a right to know that our security services have the resources they need, that those resources are being deployed properly, and that the various agencies involved in keeping London safe are talking to each other effectively.“This is not a call to make sensitive operational details public, it is a call for a structured independent inquiry in order to reassure Londoners that security services are acting wholly and totally to our benefit.”

Notes to Editors:
1. The motion calling for an independent inquiry was carried by a majority of 15 votes.
2. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

The London Assembly held the 7 July Review chaired by Richard Barnes. It remains, to date, the only public examination of some of the facts pertaining to the events of 7/7, interviewing survivors, members of the emergency services and others involved in responding to the attacks such as mobile telephone operators. The Committee's findings praised the work of the emergency services, but painted a worrying picture of the chaos after the carnage, and advised a series of recommendations to improve London's response to terror or disaster.

We made brownies and I think we're dead...

Say, Officer Sanchez...drugs are bad, m'kay?...

Satin Pyjamas 2007

The slinky silky soft satin pyjamas 2007 best bloggery hustings nominations are in....at a Fistful of Euros. Vote here for your favourite blogs; categories include Best European Weblog overall, Best UK Blog, Best Personal, Best Political, Lifetime Achievement and Best New Weblog. And many more.

Vote away, ladies and gents! Voting is what makes the internet great, and a beacon of democracy in these trying times.

Thanks to the satiny sleek Rachel-Catherine for alerting me to the hustings.

I had some satin pyjamas once. They were v. glam, but somewhat slithery. Worn when a guest in houses with nylon sheets they produced interesting static-electrical effects. Worn at home in a damp rented flat they were, sadly, unwearably clammy. I had to retire them. But I am sure that a Fistful of Euros award 2007 will produce nothing but red hot sparks in the lucky winners. And I am very excited that I have been nominated, and so is my Mum.

Taking Liberties

A while back I was asked to be in a film about the erosion of civil liberties in the UK that has happened since 1997. Civil liberties in the aftermath of terrorism is a subject close to my heart, and one I regularly bang on and on about in this blog, so I said, yes, of course I'd be honoured to help.

Last night I saw the film Taking Liberties on the big screen for the first time, ( it was the cast and crew screening) and it was excellent. Funny, moving, infuritating, and best of all, it gives people things to do at the end of it. The film , which is released on June 8th, tells the stories of dozens of ordinary people. Grandmothers, teenagers, war veterans, writers, chefs, comedians, protesters, ordinary people from across the political spectrum - all caught up in the storm. There are contributions from Tony Benn, Henry Porter, Boris Johnson, Shami Chakrabarti, Walter Wolfgang, and many more.

Many of the featured stories leave you shaking your head in disbelief. But it's all frighteningly true, and the point is that these people's stories could be anyone's stories. Taking Liberties makes it clear how desperately important this issue of balancing our freedom with managing our fear is, for all of us. The right not to be detained without trial, the right to peaceful protest, the right to privacy, to trial by jury, the right not to be tortured, and many other crucial rights that we have all taken for granted for years are being whittled away, and if we don't protest, and stop it, it will soon be too late. And we will wake up to find we have set the apparatus in place for a very different Britain under a very different type of leader.

And we will have betrayed our country, ourselves, and our grandchildren.

The film is an indictment of the outgoing great showman Blair, and his disastrous adventures with the neo-con US administration. It shows the damage done to the fabric of what we still idly boast of as our free and fair society, by the juggernaut of the stupidly-conceived War on Terror.

But it is also a terrible indictment of us, the people who let all this happen under their noses, that we have been content to live so selfishly, so heedlessly, letting our own elected Government take away the rights which our grandparents' generation died for, without a whisper, without a word.

Film's out June 8th. Please, put the date in your diaries now, because if enough people go and see it on the opening weekend, then it will get further bookings all over the country, and it is important that people know about this film and have a chance to see it. If you liked Bowling for Columbine, or Farenheit 9/11, or An Inconvenient Truth, then you should see this movie.

YouTube trailer here

Look, please, go see it, and bring a mate. I'll be going again on the opening weekend (and will let you know where/when if anyone fancies it, and the pub afterwards, if you email me.)

Cinema listings are here with more listings being added all the time.

You can also buy the book, Taking Liberties, which is out now, and which is very good indeed.

UPDATE: Telegraph, and bloggers

Bloggerheads, Netherworld, Bread and Circuses, TheNextWave.

More soon. Have to go and write a speech for the POLIS public media forum at the LSE tonight, sign off book cover and as it is now past 3pm, eat some lunch.