peak4

For anyone interested, the full official report is here; https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66053ae4e8c442001a220426/_Official_Sensitive__Khan_Aqib_SoS_Decision_REDACTED.pdf

It's not a new thing; this is Haaretz in 20020 42 Knees in One Day': Israeli Snipers Open Up About Shooting Gaza Protesters “From the point of view of hits, I have the most. In my battalion they would say: ‘Look, here comes the killer.’ When I came back from the field, they would ask, ‘Well, how many today?’ You have to understand that before we showed up, knees were the hardest thing to rack up. There was a story about one sniper who had 11 knees all told, and people thought no one could outdo him. And then I brought in seven-eight knees in one day. Within a few hours, I almost broke his record.” Eden: “On that day, our pair had the largest number of hits, 42 in all. My locator wasn’t supposed to shoot, but I gave him a break, because we were getting close to the end of our stint, and he didn’t have knees. In the end you want to leave with the feeling that you did something, that you weren’t a sniper during exercises only. So, after I had a few hits, I suggested to him that we switch. He got around 28 knees there, I’d say.”

An article I came across a couple od weeks ago makes for fairly powerful reading; ‘We need to talk about choice’: woman who ended life at Dignitas urges change to UK law The Guardian On the eve of her death in Switzerland Paola Marra told the Guardian about her journey and her wish that she could have died at home

Some may remember Biden's support for a US celebrity chef & World Central Kitchen; Joe Biden lauds World Central Kitchen for serving Ukrainian refugees amid ravaging war Republic Joe Biden appreciates the efforts of José Andrés and his team at World Central Kitchen for supporting the Ukrainian refugees and providing them with food. They've been active in Gaza too; Celebrity US chef feeding Gaza calls for ‘ceasefire, with hostages released on both sides’ Jewish News Syndicate via archive.is José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, demanded that Israel “stop killing children, targeting humanitarian volunteers and press.” The cynic inside makes me wonder if these previous stories led to the following; Israel’s war on Gaza live: Five aid workers killed after food delivery Al Jazeera Australian, Polish, UK and Palestinian aid workers were reported among the five killed in an Israeli attack following the delivery of humanitarian food relief in Deir el-Balah, the Gaza government media office said See also on Threadreader; Those with a Twitter account may wish to follow the author Younis Tirawi, https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1774912680173650390?refresh=1712016468 (they also have several other threads available on Threadreader for those without Twitter, but be warned, some might find the content distressing.

I suspect most of the protests are against the government, rather than against their actions in Gaza, but even so.... Tens of thousands of Israelis rally against PM Netanyahu in Jerusalem Al Jazeera Israelis thronged central Jerusalem in the largest protest since Israel’s war on Gaza broke out in October. Israel leaves al-Shifa Hospital in ruins and littered with human remains Al Jazeera again Dozens of mutilated bodies have been found at al-Shifa Hospital after the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers following a two-week raid. Gaza’s largest medical facility has been left in ruins. I wonder how long it will be before someone suggests banning Haaretz, though I suspect that would lead to even more civil unrest Israel Created 'Kill Zones' in Gaza. Anyone Who Crosses Into Them Is Shot Haaretz, via archive.is The Israeli army says 9,000 terrorists have been killed since the Gaza war began. Defense officials and soldiers, however, tell Haaretz that these are often civilians whose only crime was to cross an invisible line drawn by the IDF "In practice, a terrorist is anyone the IDF has killed in the areas in which its forces operate," says a reserve officer who has served in Gaza.

I would imagine that the Knesset are concerned about Al Jazeera's documentaries such as this one, reviewed here by Middle East Eye War on Gaza: Al Jazeera tells the 7 October story that British media will not New documentary reveals how false and inflammatory allegations made their way into the journalistic mainstream Forensic. Sober. Clear-sighted. Scrupulous. Al Jazeera’s investigative unit has produced a film that tells the story of what really happened on 7 October. This authoritative documentary does not flinch from detailing the atrocities and war crimes carried out by Hamas. But it shows beyond reasonable doubt that many of the lurid accounts that emerged from Israeli sources were false. Deeply inflammatory stories, whether concerning allegations of mass rape or the beheading and burning of babies, were either unsupported by evidence or straightforward lies. Yet, they prepared the way for the murderous savagery of the ensuing Israeli assault on Gaza, which has been described by the International Court of Justice as a plausible genocide. Al Jazeera painstakingly analyses how these accounts entered the public domain. This involves a sustained look at Zaka, Israel’s emergency response unit of trained paramedics who handle terrorist episodes and homicides. Al Jazeera shows how Zaka gave details of atrocities that never happened, including of burned and beheaded babies, which made headlines around the world and were used for maximum propaganda effect by Israel to gain sympathy.

There's a number of people who've tried pointing this out, but with little traction in MSM Putin's Brexit Coup Bylines Not just Russia of course. It was in the interest of others in The US for the EU to be weakened and Brexit provided an ideal opportunity. Read up on Koch, Mercer, & the Atlas network etc. Guardian How US climate deniers are working with far-right racists to hijack Brexit for Big Oil Le Monde The Koch and Exxon Funded Think Tanks Supporting, and Being Courted by, Britain’s Brexit Campaigners DeSmog I would argue that the nature and style of the Brexit campaign, rather than Brexit itself, has led to much of the social division prevalent today. Brexit as ‘politics of division’: social media campaigning after the referendum T&F On-Line Increasing criticism has also been levied at social media companies who have failed to prevent the spread of especially far-right disinformation. The Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump in November 2016 were supported by powerful campaigners making use of new digital technologies such as social media bots, mass data-harvesting and targeted ads. The hybridity of media platforms also enables the spread of not just mainstream legacy media content but also ‘alternative’ sources as a way of mobilising people and promoting ideas. ‘Dark money’ originating with US billionaires such as the Koch Brothers was found to lie behind the pro-Brexit alternative media platform spiked (Leave.EU donor Arron Banks co-owns Westmonster, a UK-based news site modelled on Steve Bannon’s Breitbart which launched in 2017 . Furthermore, the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Report found evidence of Russian interference in the referendum, with anti-EU stories by Kremlin-aligned media circulating online at the time. While acknowledging that the actual impact on voting choices is hard to measure, the report makes clear that social media platforms potentially allow democratic processes to be manipulated by powerful internal and external actors. How US billionaires are fuelling the hard-right cause in Britain The Guardian Long article with lots of links. That Spiked magazine’s US funding arm received $300,000 from the Charles Koch Foundation suggests a hidden agenda

It's actually in the terms of the contract, though there might be a separate argument, as to whether it's necessary; Derby Oxygen Free Jump's website a couple of days ago I'm guessing the condition has been added following a series of news items over several years. Can I Jump With a Medical Condition? If you’re fit and well enough to jump, go for it. If you don’t know for sure, the best person to answer this question is a doctor or medical specialist. If you have a medical condition that may affect your ability to jump safely on a trampoline, ask first and then write the details on your waiver. If you have a pre-existing injury or disability we may require you to bring a signed doctor’s note to confirm it is safe for you to participate in the session. Down Syndrome – we require a signed doctor’s note to confirm participation for each visit. Covid-19 – if you’re showing symptoms or have a positive test result, do the right thing. Boy with Down's Syndrome was told he couldn't use the trampoline park without a doctor's note MEN 2017, so quite some time ago. Trampoline park emergency calls revealed BBC 2017 Ambulances were called to trampoline parks in the UK more than 300 times in a year, figures obtained by BBC 5 live's Daily programme show. The figures showed: Flip Out Stoke had the highest rate of call outs amongst the trusts Paramedics attended 17 times in 109 days - once every six days - following its opening in December 2015 Oxygen Freejumping in Southampton, which had 200,000 jumpers in the last year, has the next highest callout rate: 13 call outs in 114 days - one every 9 days Air Hop in Guildford, which has about 300,000 jumpers annually, had 39 call outs - an average of one every nine days (assuming it was open for 365 days). A completely different company, but you can understand why responsible operators should take H&S seriously Pair fined after 11 customers broke backs at Flip Out trampoline park BBC 2024 Two men who ran a trampoline park where 270 people were injured - including 11 breaking their backs - have been handed a community order and a fine. An inquiry was launched after medics at the local A&E raised concerns over the number of people needing treatment after visiting Flip Out in Chester.

Unfortunately, I've not been able to see them, though they do look quite good; There's a bit about them here. Ramadan Lights is a non-profit making community initiative, from the community, by the community and for the community. Aisha Desai, from London, created ‘Ramadan Lights UK’ recognised by a Points of Light Award from 10 Downing St. Inspired by her joy as a child at seeing the festive Christmas lights in Central London, Aisha wanted to create a similar experience for Muslim communities across the country. During the pandemic, she crowdfunded to bring lights to her local community and last year collaborated with the ‘Heart of London Business Alliance’, and other private organisations, to oversee the inaugural display of over 30,000 sustainable lights, forming 61 moons, along Coventry Street in London. Congratulating Aisha on her award, Mike Freer, Aisha’s local MP for Finchley and Golders Green, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my constituent, Aisha Desai, as a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Points of Light award, which celebrates the exceptional service of individual volunteers to their communities. A short Youtube video about her and the project, and an earlier one from 2021 for those of you with a Facebook account Since our capital is such a diverse city, even as an atheist, I think it's good to see a wide range of celebrations, religious and otherwise; The Passion Of Jesus: Free Play Returns To Trafalgar Square On Good Friday 2024 Londonist Diwali on the Square 2023 London.gov.uk Menorah 2023 on Trafalgar Square Vaisakhi 2024 Eid in the Square 2024 St George's Day 2024

Not just society, but the really important difference is the CPS & police being told to start from a position of believing victims. The CPS of course only works within England & Wales; I certainly don't know wat attitudes were prevalent in Northern Ireland's PPS at the same time. The reforms Starmer made to the CPS when he was DPP, in conjunction with discussions with local prosecutors, Nazir Afzal in particular, made a huge difference. This review in the Guardian, is far from uncritical of Starmer overall, as am I at the moment, but I'd suggest that there is little doubt that he sought to improve interactions with victims during his tenure. How leading the CPS changed Keir Starmer – while he changed it “When he first came in 2008, we were concerned he would be very anti-police,” said Nazir Afzal, who was a CPS prosecutor at the time. “His background was pro bono work on the McDonald’s case and human rights law.” However, over the course of the next few years Starmer transformed his reputation from that of a radical lawyer to that of a moderate and cautious administrator. Afzal remembers Starmer being willing to take difficult decisions to make sure a new case could get off the ground. “The problem was we needed to get a jury to believe one of the victims, even though at first we hadn’t,” he said. “We had to say we got this wrong, and he agreed. He even changed internal guidelines so we could say in court we had previously made a mistake.” The Savile and Rochdale cases helped persuade Starmer to change the CPS’s guidelines on sexual abuse cases. Starmer told prosecutors they should start from a position of believing victims. He also laid out a series of stereotypes they should avoid, including that the victim invited sex by the way they dressed or acted or that they were to blame because they had used drugs or alcohol. The guidelines transformed the way in which the CPS approached such cases and helped boost conviction rates for sexual abuse cases. Some, however, believe they went too far................. In relation to The PPS, see below; I've not read it all, but the one highlighted passage from Page 21 should go some way to explaining the reluctance of victims to come forward Inquiry into Criminal Justice Services available to Victims and Witnesses of Crime in Northern Ireland Hansard 2011 We would also like to see victims having a status, or being acknowledged as victims. As the lady from SAMM NI said; you are told that you are not a victim, that you are a witness, and that you are there just to help the prosecution. At best, you are tolerated. We have examples of women who were treated discourteously or rudely by members of the judiciary or by prosecution staff. Victims are not given the respect that is due to them. As a minimum, we believe that going through the criminal justice system should not leave you feeling any worse than having been a victim of crime in the first instance. Unfortunately, far too many women tell us that they wish that they had never reported the crime to the police or allowed the prosecution to go ahead, because of the violation that they felt again in going through the court process.

No idea who Zach Clay is, though I do have my suspicions. The screenshots in the answer were to save other forum readers being mislead by comments such as the one I quoted, as well as stuff about Kahn's London etc. Personally I've never felt unsafe there, whether visiting as a tourist, or working; though the latter hasn't been for a good few years.

If your friend hasn't committed yet, perhaps he should read up on crime rates. The Met area crime stats consistently score as slightly safer than Manchester, though that of course may not fit with everyone's agenda For the second chart Crime Index is an estimation of the overall level of crime in a given city or country. We consider crime levels lower than 20 as very low, crime levels between 20 and 40 as low, crime levels between 40 and 60 as moderate, crime levels between 60 and 80 as high, and crime levels higher than 80 as very high. Safety index is, on the other way, quite the opposite of the crime index. If the city has a high safety index, it is considered very safe.

For reasons related to contempt of court, it might be unwise to discuss many aspects of the current charges. If we had a decent attorney general, I'd have thought they'd be issuing a statement to that regard, particularly sine he's such a public figure. This of course would not apply to discussion of his past political history, such as opposing The Good Friday Agreement, or Running Enoch Powell's election campaign. Anti LGBT stance, opposing same sex marriage etc. and accusations of making anti-Catholic comments.

I'm sure there were other sources, but I saw it on The BBC web site Parents offered class photo with no 'complex needs' pupils

As pointed out a little earlier, Richard Walker would appear to be the executive chair of Iceland, an ex-Tory donor, who now supports Labour. Iceland supermarket boss and ex-Tory donor backs Starmer for PM The Guardian Richard Walker says Labour leader understands how cost of living crisis puts ‘unbearable strain’ on families Britain needs sound leadership after years of chaos. That’s why I quit the Tories – and now back Labour | Richard Walker Good to see so much confected outrage; or would confectionary outrage be closer?

I can remember an exchange on Twitter a few years ago. Basire's Dream was questioning someone he'd seemingly never heard of before. One of the better foot in mouth examples I've seen. Fortunately I took a screenshot before they deletes their tweet. Ken Miffybon @Kmifbon Dec 18, 2018 Hahahaha! You just asked the former head of legal of the EU Council, and possibly Europe's most illustrious EU law professor, if he read the Lisbon treaty. I just fell off my chair. He's as close as it gets to "did you read it?" - "no, I wrote it!" You made my morning.

The author of that article of course was Brendan O'Neill from Spiked; a magazine with obscure American funding, and a re-incarnation of the Revolutionary Communist Party. The second vote was on a later version of the Lisbon treaty, with various alterations added as a result of the original Irish result, and after listening to input from other countries. The later version and vote was overwhelmingly carried in Ireland held on 2 October 2009, and the proposal was approved by 67.1% to 32.9%, with a turnout of 59% Wiki It looks to me like a true democracy at play here. The Treaty of Lisbon after the Second Irish Referendum HoC Library In a referendum on 2 October 2009 the Republic of Ireland voted by 67.1% to 32.9% in favour of ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon, having voted against its ratification in June 2008. Politically, the second vote was predicated on concessions agreed by the European Council in December 2008 and confirmed in June 2009 as “guarantees” to be formalised in a protocol attached to the next accession treaty. The positive Irish vote was welcomed by the EU institutions and other Member States, but Poland and the Czech Republic still have not completed ratification. This paper looks at the background to the referendum and other ratification developments.

I though last night I'd seen a comment that this topic might be better discussed in the Photography Interest group forum, but it seems very quiet there these days. I did add a couple of photos last month to see if they sparked any interest, but without much success. https://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/topic/479289-ir-photography/?tab=comments#comment-8780055 Briefly touching on dynamic range of digital cameras/images, it's not just about skin tones. I can recall in the earlier days of digital photography, just how hard it was to capture good detail in both black and white in the same photo. Consider a trip to Fairburn Ings nature reserve; I'm quoting that as it's one of the few places I know where there were regularly black swans amongst the white. In a single image of a black swan, you could capture good feather detail, similarly with a single image of a white swan, with slightly different exposure. Trying to get one of each in the same frame, and capturing feather details in both was difficult if not impossible; try and find good early digital images of magpies for instance. Even in film days it was problematic, which is why the really good photographers were experts in dodging and burning in the darkroom when printing; look at Ansel Adams photos of the Yosemite Valley. Extrapolate that to crowd photos of a mixed black and white population, and it becomes clear that many images show one group in a more favourable light; I'm using that expression deliberately. It's less of an issue these days, as sensor dynamic range is greater, and for those who process from raw rather than just using out of camera jpg files, much of the photo processing software make the boosting of dark tones, and pulling back blown highlights much easier.

It's maybe getting too late in the evening for a difficult and complex question, particularly when it's not well defined. Even more so at the moment when we have many commentators who seek to use the actual topic of racism as a means to divide people, rather than exploring solutions. I'd be interested to know how long ago Norbert's conversation took place, and the actual photographic experience of the other person(s) in the discussion. Undoubtedly some photographers will use the medium as an extension of their own racism, but obviously that doesn't reflect the photographic process itself. This article explored the use of a particular Polaroid film by the South African police force for example Racism' of early colour photography explored in art exhibition The Guardian Can the camera be racist? The question is explored in an exhibition that reflects on how Polaroid built an efficient tool for South Africa's apartheid regime to photograph and police black people. To take issue with one of Norbert's original comments, that film is linear; that most certainly isn't the case. I spend quite a lot of time behind a camera, though never for portraiture; each film stock represents different parts of the visible spectrum in different ways. It's a bit hard to demonstrate these days, due to the lack of film stock availability, though something like DxO Optics Film Pack gives very good digital approximations of a wide variety of older films for modern digital cameras. Even in digital photography, the visible dynamic range is less than the human eye, though it's getting better as technology progresses. I wonder if the original conversation centred, even inadvertently, around "Shirley Cards"?? The “Shirley Card” Legacy: Artists Correcting for Photography’s Racial Bias National Gallery of Art Longish article but worth reading if anyone is genuinely interested on the topic Printing machines were only being calibrated to the appearance of Shirley and other white women. Pictures of people with darker skin were often poorly rendered, particularly if people with different skin tones were photographed together. Calibrating the machines to prefer lighter skin tones could even make people with darker skin unrecognizable. These poorly printed images have hidden the faces of Black subjects, including from their loved ones and future generations. It's further explored here The Racial Bias Built Into Photography New York Times via archive.is Again a longish article, but worth exploring. Sarah Lewis explores the relationship between racism and the camera. Can a photographic lens condition racial behaviour? I wondered about this as I was preparing to speak about images and justice on a university campus. “We have a problem. Your jacket is lighter than your face,” the technician said from the back of the one-thousand-person amphitheater-style auditorium. “That’s going to be a problem for lighting.” She was handling the video recording and lighting for the event. The phrase hung in the air, and I laughed to resolve the tension in the room then offered back just the facts: “Well, everything is lighter than my face. I’m black.” “Touché,” said the technician organizing the event. She walked toward the lighting booth. The word "Racist" to me normally has negative discriminatory overtones, but sometimes it's completely unintentional by the one being accused, though that doesn't lessen the impact on the subject who feels discriminated against. Flash gets mentioned earlier, and also in at least one of the above links; it's obviously very relevant with regard to correctly illuminating different skin tones. Lighting generally is what it's all about, particularly with portraiture; we're not just putting a flash on the camera and shooting away. If anyone's interested, one of the masters of lighting is Damien McGillicuddy, who's Youtube channel is worth a look, though it's a bit limited in some ways. Do a search on the internet, or look Here for other stuff or on Instagram .

Maps are here https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/schools-childcare/school-catchment-checker

I'm not sure if this belongs here or on the Conservatives thread, though it would likely get hidden too quickly there; Quite a good thread, rolled up by Threadreader for those without a Twitter account. Plenty of links to follow within for further evidenced explanation. This thread explores the crisis the NHS is facing, how the crisis came about, why it has not been fixed and what we should do to fix it. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1730244798223724925.html Can anyone remember what happened around 2010 that could be so significant? If you don't like Twitter threads, see The Metro amongst others, for attribution of the same graphic, but note the date Hate the NHS? Well, apparently Britain now has the BEST healthcare system in the world In July, we launched the Rational Policy-maker’s Guide to the NHS in Parliament … The report pointed out that the Conservatives inherited the best healthcare system in the world…

That would probably explain it, before the ACPO guidelines; I can recall someone, in a red top paper, with the usual sad face holding up a 31mph ticket from North Wales, but have never re-found it.

I appreciate it's going off topic, but do you still have the paperwork showing 34mph? Sites such as Pepipoo (currently offline) have never managed to find a case prosecuted below the original ACPO guidelines, which say prosecutions should only start at 10% + 2mph, so 35 in a 30, 46 in a 40 etc.

Do you mean those petty regulations we helped write and approve when we were members?

There is of course another problem looming over the next few years Why 7 million UK smart meters will stop working and what it will mean New Scientist Household smart meters give a live summary of energy usage and its cost – but the planned switch-off of 2G and 3G mobile networks means that some 7 million devices in England, Wales and Scotland will stop working, warns a government committee.