In the second part of this series about people controlling the internet, Jon Ronson returns to the theme of online astroturfing Jon Ronson
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In the second part of this series about people controlling the internet, Jon Ronson returns to the theme of online astroturfing Jon Ronson
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Group of about 20 caravans claims to be from Dale Farm, where residents are awaiting judgment on council’s eviction plans A group of around 20 caravans, believed to be from the Dale Farm Travellers’ site in Essex, has travelled 60 miles north-west and arrived at a park near Luton. The Travellers have stopped at Stockwood Park, Bedfordshire, saying they have nowhere else to go. They say more caravans could arrive from the Essex site. Residents of Dale Farm and Basildon council are locked in a standoff after residents won a last-minute emergency injunction to prevent an eviction that was due to start on Monday . Both parties now await a judgment at the high court in London on Friday, which will decide whether the planned eviction, estimated to be costing Basildon council up to £18m, can go ahead. Luton borough council has begun legal action to remove the Travellers from the park, a public area with a golf course, gardens and a horse-riding school. One of the Travellers who had made the 60-mile trip to Luton said they had lost everything. “I moved to Luton rather than wait for the bailiffs because my health was suffering,” he told the Sun . “My son and daughter were already in schools in Essex. Then we had to move and lost it all.” He said he thought more families would join. “The word has now spread back to Dale Farm. There will be 30 or 40 more caravans coming from Dale Farm. We have nowhere else to go.” A spokesman for Luton borough council said: “The council was made aware of the encampment and immediately started the standard legal procedure for eviction. We expect to move them on very soon.” Meanwhile on Dale Farm, Travellers were due to start clearing a six-metre barricade in order to let officials on to the site, in line with a court order granted on Monday. The last-minute injunction prevents the council from clearing 51 unauthorised plots until after this Friday’s hearing and requires the council to provide a detailed plot-by-plot breakdown of what it plans to remove. After the court ruling, the council has repeatedly asked residents – and up to 100 protesters who have been supporting the Travellers – to leave the site and stop blocking access to it. Dale Farm residents said they would start removing barricades blocking the entrance to the site, allow access for emergency vehicles and families to move back onsite, but said they would oppose any attempt at entry by bailiffs. “With this court ruling we’re finally hopeful that common sense will prevail, so we’re moving our caravans back into Dale Farm,” resident Michelle McCarthy said. “We’re reasonable people and we urge the council to find a way that we can continue to live in peace as a community. We’re all working together to open the gates, and we’re so grateful to our friends and supporters for helping us.” Basildon council has said the Travellers would be liable for any costs caused by the delay, which campaigners have estimated to be £1.2m a day. Hannah Roberts, from the campaign group Dale Farm Solidarity, said: “In their bloody-minded overzealousness, the council are paying £1.2m a day for police to sit in hotel rooms and drink coffee when they could be funding schools and hospitals and building their community.” Basildon council’s leader, Tony Ball, said the council had complied with the judge’s order and provided the plot-by-plot schedule. He said: “The injunction also places obligations on the Travellers to discourage any further protest from non-Dale Farm residents, and to dismantle the barricades and any obstructions preventing access on to the site. We have made repeated pleas to the Travellers to ensure health and safety is considered on site, and these measures would help enable a safer operation for all concerned.” Dale Farm Roma, Gypsies and Travellers Protest Housing Communities Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Group of about 20 caravans claims to be from Dale Farm, where residents are awaiting judgment on council’s eviction plans A group of around 20 caravans, believed to be from the Dale Farm Travellers’ site in Essex, has travelled 60 miles north-west and arrived at a park near Luton. The Travellers have stopped at Stockwood Park, Bedfordshire, saying they have nowhere else to go. They say more caravans could arrive from the Essex site. Residents of Dale Farm and Basildon council are locked in a standoff after residents won a last-minute emergency injunction to prevent an eviction that was due to start on Monday . Both parties now await a judgment at the high court in London on Friday, which will decide whether the planned eviction, estimated to be costing Basildon council up to £18m, can go ahead. Luton borough council has begun legal action to remove the Travellers from the park, a public area with a golf course, gardens and a horse-riding school. One of the Travellers who had made the 60-mile trip to Luton said they had lost everything. “I moved to Luton rather than wait for the bailiffs because my health was suffering,” he told the Sun . “My son and daughter were already in schools in Essex. Then we had to move and lost it all.” He said he thought more families would join. “The word has now spread back to Dale Farm. There will be 30 or 40 more caravans coming from Dale Farm. We have nowhere else to go.” A spokesman for Luton borough council said: “The council was made aware of the encampment and immediately started the standard legal procedure for eviction. We expect to move them on very soon.” Meanwhile on Dale Farm, Travellers were due to start clearing a six-metre barricade in order to let officials on to the site, in line with a court order granted on Monday. The last-minute injunction prevents the council from clearing 51 unauthorised plots until after this Friday’s hearing and requires the council to provide a detailed plot-by-plot breakdown of what it plans to remove. After the court ruling, the council has repeatedly asked residents – and up to 100 protesters who have been supporting the Travellers – to leave the site and stop blocking access to it. Dale Farm residents said they would start removing barricades blocking the entrance to the site, allow access for emergency vehicles and families to move back onsite, but said they would oppose any attempt at entry by bailiffs. “With this court ruling we’re finally hopeful that common sense will prevail, so we’re moving our caravans back into Dale Farm,” resident Michelle McCarthy said. “We’re reasonable people and we urge the council to find a way that we can continue to live in peace as a community. We’re all working together to open the gates, and we’re so grateful to our friends and supporters for helping us.” Basildon council has said the Travellers would be liable for any costs caused by the delay, which campaigners have estimated to be £1.2m a day. Hannah Roberts, from the campaign group Dale Farm Solidarity, said: “In their bloody-minded overzealousness, the council are paying £1.2m a day for police to sit in hotel rooms and drink coffee when they could be funding schools and hospitals and building their community.” Basildon council’s leader, Tony Ball, said the council had complied with the judge’s order and provided the plot-by-plot schedule. He said: “The injunction also places obligations on the Travellers to discourage any further protest from non-Dale Farm residents, and to dismantle the barricades and any obstructions preventing access on to the site. We have made repeated pleas to the Travellers to ensure health and safety is considered on site, and these measures would help enable a safer operation for all concerned.” Dale Farm Roma, Gypsies and Travellers Protest Housing Communities Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Group of about 20 caravans claims to be from Dale Farm, where residents are awaiting judgment on council’s eviction plans A group of around 20 caravans, believed to be from the Dale Farm Travellers’ site in Essex, has travelled 60 miles north-west and arrived at a park near Luton. The Travellers have stopped at Stockwood Park, Bedfordshire, saying they have nowhere else to go. They say more caravans could arrive from the Essex site. Residents of Dale Farm and Basildon council are locked in a standoff after residents won a last-minute emergency injunction to prevent an eviction that was due to start on Monday . Both parties now await a judgment at the high court in London on Friday, which will decide whether the planned eviction, estimated to be costing Basildon council up to £18m, can go ahead. Luton borough council has begun legal action to remove the Travellers from the park, a public area with a golf course, gardens and a horse-riding school. One of the Travellers who had made the 60-mile trip to Luton said they had lost everything. “I moved to Luton rather than wait for the bailiffs because my health was suffering,” he told the Sun . “My son and daughter were already in schools in Essex. Then we had to move and lost it all.” He said he thought more families would join. “The word has now spread back to Dale Farm. There will be 30 or 40 more caravans coming from Dale Farm. We have nowhere else to go.” A spokesman for Luton borough council said: “The council was made aware of the encampment and immediately started the standard legal procedure for eviction. We expect to move them on very soon.” Meanwhile on Dale Farm, Travellers were due to start clearing a six-metre barricade in order to let officials on to the site, in line with a court order granted on Monday. The last-minute injunction prevents the council from clearing 51 unauthorised plots until after this Friday’s hearing and requires the council to provide a detailed plot-by-plot breakdown of what it plans to remove. After the court ruling, the council has repeatedly asked residents – and up to 100 protesters who have been supporting the Travellers – to leave the site and stop blocking access to it. Dale Farm residents said they would start removing barricades blocking the entrance to the site, allow access for emergency vehicles and families to move back onsite, but said they would oppose any attempt at entry by bailiffs. “With this court ruling we’re finally hopeful that common sense will prevail, so we’re moving our caravans back into Dale Farm,” resident Michelle McCarthy said. “We’re reasonable people and we urge the council to find a way that we can continue to live in peace as a community. We’re all working together to open the gates, and we’re so grateful to our friends and supporters for helping us.” Basildon council has said the Travellers would be liable for any costs caused by the delay, which campaigners have estimated to be £1.2m a day. Hannah Roberts, from the campaign group Dale Farm Solidarity, said: “In their bloody-minded overzealousness, the council are paying £1.2m a day for police to sit in hotel rooms and drink coffee when they could be funding schools and hospitals and building their community.” Basildon council’s leader, Tony Ball, said the council had complied with the judge’s order and provided the plot-by-plot schedule. He said: “The injunction also places obligations on the Travellers to discourage any further protest from non-Dale Farm residents, and to dismantle the barricades and any obstructions preventing access on to the site. We have made repeated pleas to the Travellers to ensure health and safety is considered on site, and these measures would help enable a safer operation for all concerned.” Dale Farm Roma, Gypsies and Travellers Protest Housing Communities Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk
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Jets bomb rebel base on Qandil mountain in northern Iraq in response to dozens of killings of security staff since July Turkey has bombed the main Kurdish rebel base in northern Iraq and chased rebels in a mountainous area in Turkey’s south-east in response to attacks by the autonomy-seeking guerrillas. The military said its warplanes had bombed at least 20 more suspected Kurdish rebel targets since late August, vowing to continue with its strikes. It gave no other details but the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency said the jets bombed the main rebel base on Qandil mountain deep inside northern Iraq on Wednesday. About 2,000 Turkish troops, meanwhile, launched an operation against Kurdish rebels in the mountainous Tunceli province after a group of rebels was detected in the area, said CNN-Turk television. CNN-Turk said it was the largest anti-rebel operation in Tunceli, which is far from the Iraqi border. The rebels, who are fighting for autonomy in Turkey from their bases in northern Iraq, have escalated attacks in recent months, killing dozens of members of the security forces and at least seven civilians since July. Suspicion also fell on Kurdish militants following Tuesday’s car bomb explosion in Ankara that killed three people and wounded 34 others. No one has claimed responsibility, however, and Islamic and leftist militants are also active in Turkey. Turkey is monitoring the movements of the rebels with Israeli-made Heron drones and also receives intelligence from US-operated Predator drones about rebel activities inside northern Iraq. The military said it would launch air strikes whenever it pinpointed the rebel targets in northern Iraq. Turkish warplanes had already bombed 132 targets in August and Wednesday’s announcement put the total number of targets that have been hit since the beginning of the campaign at 152. In the latest reported violence in Turkey, suspected Kurdish rebels attacked a van carrying a group of civilian women, killing four, and separately killed a cadet at a police training school. The attack on the women in Siirt occurred close to another police training school, leading to speculation that the assailants might have mistaken the van for a police vehicle. The women were on their way to celebrate with a friend who was leaving to start school in another province, said the provincial governor, Musa Colak. Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict since 1984. Turkey Kurds Iraq Middle East Europe guardian.co.uk
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The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has abandoned its aim to remove all traces of contamination from the north coast seabed Radioactive contamination that leaked for more than two decades from the Dounreay nuclear plant on the north coast of mainland Scotland will never been completely cleaned up, a Scottish government agency has admitted. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has decided to give up on its aim of returning the seabed near the plant to a “pristine condition”. To do so, it said, could cause “more harm than good”. At a board meeting in Stirling on Tuesday , the Scottish government’s environmental watchdog opted to encourage remediation “as far as is practically achievable” but to abandon any hope of removing all the radioactive pollution from the seabed. Tens of thousands of radioactive fuel fragments escaped from the Dounreay plant between 1963 and 1984, polluting local beaches, the coastline and the seabed. Fishing has been banned within a two-kilometre radius of the plant since 1997. The most radioactive of the particles are regarded by experts as potentially lethal if ingested. Similar in size to grains of sand, they contain caesium-137, which has a half-life of 30 years, but they can also incorporate traces of plutonium-239, which has a half-life of over 24,000 years – meaning that is the time period for half of the material to break down. The particles are milled shards from the reprocessing of irradiated uranium and plutonium fuel from two long-defunct reactors. They are thought to have drained into the sea with discharges from cooling ponds. In 2007, Dounreay, which is now being decommissioned, pled guilty at Wick sheriff court to a “failure to prevent fragments of irradiated nuclear fuel being discharged into the environment”. The plant’s operator at the time, the UK Atomic Energy Authority, was fined £140,000. Since 2008 over 2,300 radioactive particles have been recovered from the seabed, with 351 removed by a remotely operated underwater vehicle this summer. Since 1983, over 480 particles have also been found on three local beaches and the Dounreay foreshore. Sepa recommended in 1998 that the seabed around Dounreay should be returned to a “pristine condition”. Since then, it pointed out, the contamination had been extensively investigated and new regulations on radioactively contaminated land had come into force “It is now widely accepted that a literal return to a pristine condition is a far from simple or even achievable concept,” a Sepa spokeswoman told the Guardian. “Trying to achieve it might also cause more harm than good. There is the potential that ecosystems may be destroyed on trying to get to something which does not pose a significant hazard.” An expert committee set up by Sepa warned in 2006 that disturbing the seabed could cause particles to escape and be swept ashore, putting members of the public at risk. The most radioactive particle found “could have had life-threatening consequences if it had been ingested”, the committee said. Sepa’s board agreed yesterday to change its policy to encourage further remediation “provided that this achieves more good than harm and accepting that at some sites it will not be practical to return the land to a pristine condition”. Dounreay, which is now managed by a consortium including the UK engineering firm Babcock, welcomed Sepa’s new policy. It was still aiming to remove “the majority of the most hazardous particles, together with the removal of any other particles encountered,” said the site’s senior project manager, Phil Cartwright. “The best practicable environmental option, which was welcomed by the government agencies, is focused on doing more good than harm and was publicly discussed on the basis that it would never be possible to retrieve every particle.” Friends of the Earth Scotland , however, condemned the decision. “Once again, we see the nuclear industry causing a problem it can’t solve, and dumping the cost and consequence on the rest of us,” said the environmental group’s chief executive, Stan Blackley. “Nuclear power is neither safe, clean, cheap nor low-carbon and it continues to cause problems and cost the taxpayer a hidden and open-ended fortune. Let’s learn from our past mistakes and consign it to a lead-lined dustbin.” Nuclear waste Nuclear power Scotland Energy Coastlines Oceans Marine life Pollution Rob Edwards guardian.co.uk
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Iran’s judiciary confirms that Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal have been released on $1m bail after two years in jail Iran has freed two Americans held as spies for over two years on bail of $1m after Iraq and Oman mediated for their release. The country’s judiciary confirmed on Wednesday that Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, had been released a month after a court sentenced them each to eight years in jail for espionage and illegally crossing the border into Iran . The two men are reportedly preparing to return home. “Branch 36 of Tehran’s appeals court has agreed to commute the detention sentences of the two US nationals to release on a bail of $500,000,” the judiciary said in a statement reported by Iran’s state-run Press TV. In July 2009, the men along with their friend, Sarah Shourd, 33, were arrested by Iranian security forces after walking across an unmarked border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan. Shourd was released last September on health grounds, on bail of $500,000 (£324,000) in a similar move . While in prison, Shourd became engaged to Bauer. Their release comes a week after president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told two US media organisations that the pair had been granted a “unilateral pardon” . But the following day, Iran’s judiciary cast doubt on the release. It is not clear why Iran has finally decided to grant the two clemency, but analysts have interpreted the move as an attempt to reduce tensions with the international community at the time when negotiations over its nuclear programme are in a stalemate. Iran United States Middle East Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk
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Disability campaigners criticise government for sending out letters about welfare reform bill, which has not yet been passed The government has been criticised by disability campaigners for warning some terminally ill patients that their benefits may be cut from next April if its welfare reform bill, which has not yet passed all its parliamentary stages, is enacted later this year. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is sending letters to claimants saying the contributory employment support allowance (ESA) will be time-limited to one year for people deemed capable of returning to employment, meaning those already receiving the benefit could lose their financial help in six months’ time. The provision is included in the bill, which has still to go to the House of Lords for scrutiny. Neil Coyle, the Disability Alliance’s director of policy, said: “The impact of cutting support will be devastating for people already told they only have a limited time left to live. Many will have worked for years and will feel they deserve a little support in return until they pass away. “The government has time to change its plans before terminally-ill people and their families have this avoidable and quite nasty cut imposed.” The alliance claims that 700,000 people will eventually be affected by the change in support, and alleges that 400,000 would have to lose all support if the government is to meet its target of cutting the welfare bill by £2bn. Liberal Democrat delegates voted against the imposition of time limits at their party conference earlier this week. But the DWP insisted the terminally ill would not lose the allowance if they were unfit to work, and said the 12-month time limit was intended to act as an incentive for those capable of returning to “work-related activity”. Those assessed as in need of support because of illness or family circumstances would continue to receive the allowance, it added. A spokesman said: “It will depend on the individual’s capacity to work. Everyone will be assessed on an individual basis and if the decision is that they are able to start the journey back to work there will be a time limit. “Speaking of terminal illness is clearly emotive and if they are on their deathbed they will clearly not be going back to work, but if someone is not in that position they may be able to lead a normal life which could involve work. The process of working may even be helpful in giving them a sense of being useful and prolonging their lives. “There is no benefit or advantage in just cutting the ESA. It is not some arbitrary target.” The spokesman said the letters were being sent out in advance of the legislation being passed in order to give claimants maximum warning of the possible change. “It would be completely wrong not to alert people well in advance that there is a possibility that their benefit entitlement may change. From next April people in the work-related activity group will only be able to claim ESA for a year, to bring it into line with other benefits. ESA is not designed for people to claim for the long term unless they are in the support group. “We must ensure that the benefit system has to be fair to taxpayers as well as disabled people.” Welfare Disability Public sector cuts Public services policy Stephen Bates guardian.co.uk
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Residents complain influx of drivers and pedestrians has brought litter, smoking and traffic jams to Los Angeles landmark To a certain enterprising visitor to Los Angeles, the cluster of narrow winding streets above the Cahuenga Pass are the charming gateway to the city’s single most recognisable landmark, the Hollywood sign. To residents, however, the tourists who drive up those streets, park haphazardly, dump litter, smoke and take pictures at all hours have become the enemy, and they believe it is time they were taught some manners. Recently, signs have sprung up reading: “Tourists Go Away.” Some of the more zealous residents have snapped photographs of illegally parked cars and posted videos on YouTube showing the disruption. The residents say the number of tourists has become intolerable now that satnav systems can lead people to places where they never drove before. They also blame the internet – specifically a site launched by unknown “traitors” in the neighbourhood, which gives away secrets about how to get as close as possible to the sign either on foot or by car. “You are about to learn what all the locals do not want you to know,” the site teases. “We believe it is time to open this area to everyone.” On Tuesday, residents’ associations around the sign decided enough was enough and descended on a community meeting to appeal to their city council member, the fire department and other officials. Some calleed for fees for non-resident vehicles, while others demanded that satnav companies omit the neighbourhood from their systems. Some turned up at the meeting to vent about the “idiots” who stop on stretches of road marked “no stopping”, or clamber over safety barriers to pose dangerously for photos. “I just need some quality of life with my wife,” said Steve Lehrman, who lives in a big house near the top of the hill. The sign was originally erected to promote a property development called Hollywoodland – the last four letters of the sign were later removed – and the area was an estate agent’s dream. Becoming a symbol of Los Angeles and the entertainment industry was just a happy accident. The 45 foot (14 metre) high letters have gone through several phases of deterioration and restoration, including campaigns spearheaded by the heavy metal rocker Alice Cooper and the Playboy founder, Hugh Hefner. Councillor Tom LaBonge was sympathetic to residents’ concerns about cigarette smoking starting a brushfire, and suggested that police and fire officials should issue tickets for littering and smoking. But he and the fire officials present said the Hollywood sign neighbourhood was no more jammed with traffic than other parts of the hillside communities stretching from Hollywood to the Pacific Ocean. Fire chief Joe Castro said he had worked to protect the hills for 33 years and had never had trouble reaching any flashpoint because of excess traffic or illegally parked tourists. That observation infuriated many residents. “What’s more important to the city, Tom?” Lehrman asked. “Homeowners or tourists?” United States Andrew Gumbel guardian.co.uk
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