Adharanand Finn gets a lift while training with the world-class athletes at an elite camp in Iten There’s a quiet knock on my door. I roll over and look at the time on my phone. 4:40am. “OK,” I say, swinging my legs out of the bed. I haven’t slept that well. The bed was comfortable enough, but I was missing my pillow. I ended up wrapping my towel in a sheet, but it wasn’t quite the same. It’s still dark outside, so I switch on the harsh strip light. A small, bare room. My clothes piled on a white plastic chair. My trainers on the floor. I sit on the edge of the bed for a moment, trying to wake up, but it’s cold so I start to get dressed. In ten minutes we have to leave. I’m spending two days in an elite training camp here in Kenya. Although the country’s Rift Valley area and particularly the town of Iten is full of amazing athletes, the very best usually live and train in camps like this one, run by a Dutch company. It’s a small, grassy square surrounded by dormitories where the athletes sleep. When I first arrive, a few of them are lying on old mattresses on the grass chatting. Another man is washing running shoes in a bucket of water. I go over and sit next to him. His name is Emmanuel Mutai . He came second in both the New York and London marathons last year. The year before he was second in the world championships. In a few weeks he’ll be lining up in London again as one of the favourites. He chats to me politely while working away on his shoes, scrubbing them until they’re spotless. Then he leaves them on the grass to dry and disappears into his room. Also staying in the camp are two of the world’s fastest 1,500m runners, Nixon Chepseba and William Biwott . The day I arrive I get to head out with them for a slow recovery run through the nearby forest. They’re both long and sinewy, gliding along through the trees. I try to run relaxed and smooth, but I feel like a clown trotting along beside them. These are two of Kenya’s most promising athletes and they’re full of confident smiles. As well as being training partners, they’re room-mates at the camp, and between them they won a host of big races on the European indoor circuit this winter. “He won one, then I won one, then him, then me,” William tells me. That evening we eat a supper of ugali and chopped greens while watching a Jackie Chan film in the camp’s sparse common room. Most people turn in before the film ends, ready for the early start the next morning. We leave through the gate just before 5am and walk under the stars to the main road. Athletes stand around in the shadows not speaking while we wait for a bus to come and pick us up. A young man of barely 20 with a big smile asks me how far I will run. Most of the runners are planning to run 38km, which is almost a marathon. The bus will follow us handing out water and giving us our time splits every 5km. “It depends on the pace,” I say. “How fast will you run each 5km?” “Probably 16 minutes, maybe 17,” he says, casually, as though that’s a normal pace for a 38km run. At 6am. At 8,000ft. My fastest ever 5km time, run on a flat course in Exeter, is over 18 minutes. Suddenly I’m worried. A minibus pulls up and the door opens. Sleepy faces peer back at us. The bus is already full and there are about ten of us waiting outside. Somehow we all squeeze in, with people sitting on each others’ laps, or standing bent over, heads squashed against the ceiling. I manage to get a window seat and peer out at the passing verge as the driver cranks up the skipping Kalenjin music. Nobody speaks. Just before 6am the bus stops on a lonely dirt road in the middle of nowhere. A few people walk by in the darkness, looking over at us, as some of the athletes disappear into the blackness to use the loo. The rest of us stand around like early morning workers about to start a shift. I’m still fretting about the pace. A thin, sickle moon hangs in the sky as an orange glow starts to seep in from the east. It’s a beautiful, still morning. We seem to be waiting for something, I realise. “What’s going on?” I ask one of the other runners. “We’re waiting for the ladies,” he says, nodding over to the road where three women are standing holding their watches, getting some last-minute instructions from the two coaches. “They get a 10 minute head start.” A head start is what I need. I run over. “Perhaps I should go with them?” I say to the coaches. “Sure,” they say, and a few seconds later I’m running, gently at first, but soon moving steadily along. Kenyans are brilliant at slowly cranking up the pace on long runs so you almost don’t notice you’re getting faster. By 5km we’re passing bicycles, as streams of people make their way to work. At each corner the road stretches off again far into the distance, but we keep going, without speaking, our feet pat patting, the miles passing as the day rises into the sky. At about 17km the men come past us. First the sound of rushing feet, like something sprinting up from behind. Then they go by, their stride strong, their shoulders leaning forward, little puffs of dust kicked up by their feet. One by one they go. At the front are Emmanuel Mutai and a Ugandan athlete called Stephen Kiprotich who came 6th at the recent world cross country championships. The others are not far behind. As they race past I feel suddenly worse, as though the harsh contrast in speed has stripped away the belief that I was feeling strong, has shone glaring headlights on the folly of my efforts. The women are getting away from me now. They too are running 38km, but the pace is still picking up. Behind me I hear the motor of the bus. As it passes me the side door slides open. The coach, Patrick Sang, a former Olympic silver medallist, grins at me. “You want a ride?” he asks. It’s a beautiful offer. I leap in through the door and sit down on a long empty seat. My heart is pumping, my body tingling to have stopped. “You know,” says Patrick, “It is very high up here.” He’s giving me an excuse, which is generous of him. But it’s for him too. The offer of a lift was more of a command than a question. The bus has to keep moving from the back of the group to the front, handing out drinks, giving out times and offering encouragement. The further behind I get, the harder that is to do. But it’s OK, I’ve done enough. In fact, I’m exhausted. Back at the camp, the athletes are in chirpy spirits. The day’s work is done. All that is left now is to rest. Tea is served by the cook, but hardly anybody eats anything. For those who are hungry, like me, there are slices of dry, white bread. The camp is a strange mix of frugality and wealth. As well as washing their own clothes and shoes in buckets of water, the athletes sleep in small rooms, eat with their fingers, and sit on the floor or on plastic garden chairs. After the run I ask where the showers are. I’m pointed to a cold tap and a pile of buckets. Yet some of these are wealthy men. A row of large, shiny 4×4 cars are parked just inside the gate like a dealer’s showroom. They all own houses and farms elsewhere, often more than one. But they choose to live an almost monastic life here, with running their daily practice. “It’s what we’re used to,” Emannuel tells me, referring to the basic conditions. But also, there is a belief that those who leave, who chose to train at home and live a more normal life, will lose their edge. And with so much competition in this one tiny corner of the world, edge is something that once lost, is hard to get back. • The book Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn will be published in 2012 Running Fitness Adharanand Finn guardian.co.uk
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Life sentence without parole for double murderer who killed girlfriends and left dismembered body parts in canals A carpenter who murdered and dismembered two former girlfriends before dumping their remains in canals in Rotterdam and London has been told he will die in prison. John Sweeney, 54, from Liverpool, was given a whole life tariff at the Old Bailey after being convicted on Monday of murdering Melissa Halstead, 33, a former model from Ohio in the US, and Paula Fields, 31, a mother-of-three living in north London. The women’s remains were found a decade apart, and detectives fear three other women known to Sweeney may also be victims. Sweeney, already serving a life sentence for the attempted murder of a third girlfriend whom he attacked with an axe and a knife, refused to leave his prison cell at Belmarsh prison to hear his sentence. Judge Mr Justice Saunders, sentencing him in his absence, said the gravity of the offences was exceptional and only a whole life term was appropriate. “These were terrible, wicked crimes. The heads of the victims having been removed, it is impossible to be certain how they were killed. The mutilation of the bodies is a serious aggravating feature of the murders. “Not only does it reveal the cold-blooded nature of the killer, but it has added greatly to the distress of the families to know that parts of their loved ones have never been recovered.” The remains of Halstead, whose head and hands were missing, were found in the Westersingel canal in Rotterdam after she vanished from her Amsterdam flat in 1990. She was only identified in 2008 after Dutch detectives carried out a cold case review and matched familial DNA. A freelance photographer, she met Sweeney in London and embarked on a tempestuous relationship, with him following her to Europe when she was deported from the UK for overstaying her work visa. Fields, originally from Liverpool, a crack cocaine user leading a chaotic life in north London that involved working as a prostitute, met him in 2000. She vanished three months later and 10 body parts were found in six holdalls in the Regent’s Canal near King’s Cross in February 2001. Her head, hands and feet were missing. Saunders said the killings had been planned. “The method of disposal of the bodies demonstrates that there was a substantial amount of planning. “Why the killings occurred, I cannot be sure, but I am satisfied that this defendant is controlling in his relationships with women and, chillingly, that control extends to deciding whether they should live or die.” The jobbing carpenter, who worked under assumed names on construction sites around mainland Europe and south-east England, had denied both murders. But, the jury heard, he had a hatred of women and turned violent when they tried to reject him. In 1994 he went on the run living under assumed aliases following the attack in Camden on Delia Balmer, a nurse, with whom he had a relationship. He was finally arrested six years later at a central London building site after the discovery of Fields’s remains. Police then realised there was a connection. The identification of Halstead then allowed them to place crucial pieces in a gruesome jigsaw they fear may not yet be complete. Detectives are appealing for information about three other women, about whom they only have sketchy information, who may also have been killed by him. One is a trainee nurse called Sue, from Derbyshire, who was said to have left for Switzerland in the late 1970s or early 80s. Two former girlfriends of Sweeney, a Brazilian known as Irani, and a Colombian called Maria, have not been seen since the late 1990s, when they knew Sweeney in north London. Asked if the three women were thought to have been murdered, Detective Chief Inspector Howard Groves said outside court: “We have some information which would suggest that is a possibility.” Clues to Sweeney’s visceral hatred of women were found in a hoard of more than 300 violent and lurid paintings and poems found at his home, with one, entitled the Scalp Hunter, depicting a female victim and a bloody axe. On the back of a scratchcard he had written a poem: “Poor old Melissa, chopped her up in bits, food to feed the fish, Am*dam was the pits.” They also found a calendar on the back of a minicab receipt with 16 December 2000 circled and then “9 1/2 weeks” and the letter “P” written under it which within three days was the period before Paula’s body was discovered on 19 February 2001. The jury heard that while on the run Sweeney had told his best friend that he found Melissa in bed with two German men and had killed them all. He also told his former wife, with whom he has two children, that the police were looking for him and he had “done something really bad which would make her hair stand on end”. Crime Caroline Davies guardian.co.uk
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Sony’s been mum on its Bloggie Duo HD for the better part of this year, teasing it once at CES and then crossing its fingers that we’d all come searching for it in Q2. Thankfully for those with chronic memory loss, we’ve got it on good authority that this very camcorder is all set to ship tomorrow. And by “good authority,” we mean a status update on Sony’s own e-shop. For those who’ve fallen behind, $169.99 grabs you a pocket-sized camcorder capable of logging two hours of HD video, a handful of 5 megapixel stills, a 2.7-inch LCD and an HDMI output. So, here’s the real question: violet, pink or green? Continue reading Sony’s Bloggie Duo HD camcorder ships this week for $170 Sony’s Bloggie Duo HD camcorder ships this week for $170 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 07:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Elijah Macon Eastbay at the NY2LA 2011 Swish n Dish Warm Up – All Ohio Red Job Search : Employment for Ex-Cons (Jobs hiring below) 2001 Grand Banks Eastbay 43′ Flybridge Eastbay Eastbay . Order value must total $75 or more before services, taxes, shipping and handling. Valid online at eastbay .com and eastbay4kids.com, by phone or mail. Does not apply to prior purchases or open orders and cannot be combined with … Eastbay Memory Lane: Patrick Ewing Sneakers | Eastbay Blog Today’s Eastbay Memory Lane post takes a look at the peak of the Patrick Ewing sneaker brand. It was in the 1993-1994 season when the moderately priced basketball shoes took up an entire page in the Eastbay catalog with silhouettes like … Eastbay and Axon Sports Partner to Raise Awareness of Sports … Posted on: Monday, 28 March 2011, 14:30 CDT WAUSAU, Wis., March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — In recognition of National Brain Injury Awareness Month, Eastbay . Eastbay Coupon Eastbay Shop now and for the next four days you will be $ 15 off any purchase of $ 75 or more per LKS1V432 store coupon code. Find brands like Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Under Armour, and many others. Sale ends 06/04/2011. … Eastbay and Axon Sports Partner to Raise Awareness of Sports … “ Eastbay strives to demeanour out, as good as demeanour ahead, for Athletes–to be the foregoer in upon condition which what they need from conduct to toe,” pronounced Dowe Tillema, President as good as CEO, Eastbay . … Kasper_FTC says: Did a eastbay tonight at my game during halftime! Off one bounce!!! No footage though, sorry lol!
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2004 MAZDA MAZDA3 Long Island City, NY 2082 Chill Will – Rachet for the Summer (Long Island Expressway 2) Chill Will – Discusting (Long Island Expressway 2) Three more bodies found on Long Island beach – This Just In – CNN … [Updated at 5:24 p.m.] The remains of three additional people were discovered Monday morning near Gilgo Beach on Long Island , according to Richard Dormer, Suffolk County Police commissioner. Long Island Serial Killer: Three More Sets Of Remains Found Near … OAK BEACH, N.Y. — Investigators scouring dense undergrowth for victims of a suspected serial killer along a remote New York beach area found three more sets of remains Monday, authorities said, bringing the total number of bodies to … Three More Bodies Found on Long Island – The Daily Beast More gruesome finds on Long Island : A recent search on a remote New York beach for victims of a suspected serial killer found the remains of three more peo. Craigslist Killer Long Island Update Craigslist Killer Long Island Update – Craigslist Killer Long Island update 3 bodies found. NY Craigslist Killer on Long Island 3 more bodies found. Serial killer fears are rampant with todays announcement that a total of 8 bodies has … Discovery of three more bodies brings Long Island beach count to eight Police searching for the remains of Shannan Gilbert, a sex worker who is believed to have gone missing on Long Island , have uncovered three more unburied. Heart_Eclipsed says: Public Service Announcement! there is a serial killer in Long Island so everyone please be careful!
Continue reading …Comprehend This, If You Can: Super Mario Bros 1, 2, 3, and Lost Levels Played Simultaneously
April 5, 2011 No Comment
All these games are being played by one (virtual) controller sending the same controls to every system. This video, and others like it, is mind-blowing in the truest sense. My brain can’t really even compass what’s going on at any one time, but I know there’s a system behind this madness. Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : CrunchGear Discovery Date : 04/04/2011 16:21 Number of articles : 4
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• Gbagbo’s presidential palace in Abidjan is surrounded • Whereabouts of Gbagbo unknown • Fears of a humanitarian crisis 12.24pm: Dr Dominic Zaum, an expert on the UN from the school of politics and international relations at the University of Reading, has warned that the UN Airstrikes threaten to compromise the future role of the organisation in Ivory Coast: Despite the UN Secretary-General’s statements to the contrary, the timing and the nature of yesterday’s airstrikes by the UN mission in the Ivory Coast (UNOCI) against Laurent Gbagbo’s forces has made the UN party to the conflict. The use of force to protect civilians is undoubtedly covered by the UNOCI’s Chapter VII mandate. It might help to shorten the current fighting between the two factions, improving the security of the civilian population. However, siding with forces similarly suspected of brutal attacks against civilians raises questions about UNOCI’s impartiality and ability to provide security and build trust between the factions once the immediate conflict is over. 12.22pm: If you are new to events in the Ivory Coast the Canadian broadcaster CBC has a very clear article explaining the background to the crisis . 12.14pm: A Guardian video shows footage of the assault on Gbagbo’s forces . – 12.08pm: Gbagbo’s foreign minister Alcide Djedje has taken refuge at the French ambassador’s home , France 24 reports. Djedje has reportedly said that Gbagbo and his family are inside the presidential palace under attack. Djedje was one of those targeted by UN sanctions against the Gbagbo regime. 11.57am: The West African bloc Ecowas says it is ready to help ensure a “safe and dignified” exit for Gbagbo, Reuters reports. The 15-member group has urged Gbagbo to step down immediately. In a statement it said: The (Ecowas) commission urges Mr Gbagbo once again to consider the greater interest of the Ivorian nation, as well as the unacceptably high levels of human suffering, death and destruction, and cede power immediately. In this regard, the commission stands ready to ensure that the conditions prescribed (by the African Union Peace and Security Council), especially with regard to ensuring a safe and dignified exit for Mr Gbagbo, are fulfilled. Ecowas formally endorsed Ouattara as the winner of the election in an extraordinary summit on 7 December last year. It also suspended Ivory Coast from all its decision-making bodies. 11.49am: Connectionivoirienne.net is also reporting gunfire in Abidjan based on conversations with residents. They report loud shots from heavy armoury in the Plateau area, where the presidential palace is situated, but also in the south of the city where the 43e BIMA (French marines) and the international airport are situated. 11.43am: A resident of Abidjan has painted a grim picture of the situation in the city, in a phone call with France 24. The man, whose name was given only as Isaac, said: I hear gunfire, Kalashnikovs and heavy equipment that Gbagbo’s soldiers are using and also the UN and the French helicopters are firing now and Gbagbo’s soldiers are backing up. For the moment that’s what we see and that’s what we hear. Asked what it was like for residents, Isaac said: Very difficult. We are out of food. We also are trying to get help from people that still have a little [food] but it’s difficult for them even to cross the street because they are shooting from everywhere. Bullets are coming from every alleyway, you cannot step out. you can’t get food from anywhere. The only thing we have for the time being is coffee and some snacks. 11.31am: The United Nations Children’s Fund has also expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in the Ivory Coast. UNICEF executive director Anthony Lake has called on both sides in the conflict to halt the violence against civilians. He said: UNICEF continues to be gravely concerned by the ongoing violence in Cote d’Ivoire and its alarming impact on children. We are especially troubled by reports that children are among the victims of a mass killing there. And children continue to be recruited by armed forces on all sides of the conflict – a grave violation of their rights which jeopardizes not only their future but also the chances for achieving sustainable peace in Cote d’Ivoire. UNICEF is working to assist those in need with humanitarian supplies, but our programmes have been seriously compromised by the fighting. In the West, UNICEF has been able to reach out to the displaced population with basic supplies, but we urgently need to reach those at risk, especially in Abidjan, where an estimated one million displaced people are in dire need. We fear outbreaks of disease if we and other agencies cannot reach the thousands of internally displaced families. UNICEF joins its voice to the many others who have called upon all sides in this conflict to cease the violence against civilians and to permit humanitarian aid workers to reach those in greatest need. 11.23am: The International Organisation for Migration estimates that there are up 25,000 refugees fleeing violence in the Ivory Coast , amid evidence that Malians migrants have been attacked with guns and knives. In a briefing it said: IOM has received a desperate request for assistance from a group of some 3,000 Malian migrants, including many women and children, who have been living for the past ten days in the basement and the halls of the Malian Embassy in Abidjan. Many have sustained bullet and machete wounds from attacks carried out by armed youth militias loyal to the incumbent president Gbagbo. Without running water for the past 72 hours, they say they dare not walk to the nearby lagoon for fear of further violence. IOM’s director general William Lacy Swing said: We urge warring parties in Cote d’Ivoire not to target civilians and migrant workers and to ensure their protection and safety. We exhort them to give humanitarians full access to the population and allow the safe evacuation of all migrant workers who wish to return home. 11.18am: A pro-Gbagbo military source has told Reuters that Ouatarra’s forces have not taken over the presidential palace, as has been claimed. The source said: Despite the bombardments, we are holding all of our positions, meaning the palace, the residence and all of our military bases. But the international markets have moved in anticipation of a swift end to the conflict, according to Reuters. Cocoa prices moved lower as hopes rose of a resumption of exports from Ivory Coast and the country’s defaulted $2.3 billion Eurobond rose as the assault on Gbagbo’s palace raised expectations for repayment. 11.10am: @cartunelo on Twitter has been filing regular updates from Abidjan . He is tweeting in French but my colleague Alexandra Topping has translated some of his desperate sounding reports: SOS, Dead and seriously injured at Genie 2000 (road to Bingerville) since yesterday. Please bring help. At the Riviera, a pregnant woman in need of a caesarian needs to be evacuated call etc etc 10.50am: “It looks like this is the end [for Gbagbo] and the rebels are taking control,” says Daniel Balint-Kurti Africa expert and campaigner at Global Witness. Balint-Kurti, a former agency journalist in the Ivory Coast, wrote an analysis of the crisis for the Royal African Society . In an Audioboo interview today , he warned of the prospects for civil war. Ivory Coast is a very very divided society, if Ouattara takes power tomorrow those divisions are not going to disappear. The fighting where rebels went from controlling the northern half of the country to virtually the entire country, will have seen a number of abuses by rebel forces. I think there could be further details of atrocities. We will have to look at what comes out into this investigation into what happened in the western town of Duékoué . The two sides are to blame. The end of the story will not be when Ouattara takes power. Now that the UN and the French have attacked Gbagbo’s most strategic sites, his supporters can say look ‘it’s true, it’s proven this really was an international conspiracy’. So even if Gbagbo is captured that propaganda could continue and we could still see further revolts from areas that support Gbagbo. _ 10.40am: One of Ouattara ministers, Albert Mabri Toikeusse, has told France24 there is no sign of Gbagbo negotiating surrender, which contradicts the claim by Ouattara’s ambassador to Paris, Ali Coulibaly . 10.30am: A video posted on Facebook and circulating on Twitter claims to show civilian victims of the assault by the UN on Gbabgo’s forces. The video is very dark but appears to show corpses laid out on the ground. Several people on Twitter are claiming that the UN helicopters bombed houses. Whether that is true and whether the people in the video are in fact civilian victims of the UN airstrikes cannot be verified. 10.00am: Our France correspondent Kim Willsher says French newspapers report today that Ouattara’s forces took over the official residence of Gbagbo at 1am local time (2am BST) but there was no information on whether he was at home at the time. She also reports more from Ouattara’s ambassador in Paris, who claimed today that the incumbent president is in talks to give himself up. She says Ali Coulibaly told Le Parisien newspaper that those responsible for massacres “will be punished”. He said: Nobody can deny there have been massacres, but president Alassane Ouattara was the first to demand an international inquiry and the Ivoirien government has opened a legal inquiry because nobody knows the precise date or who committed them. But the massacres didn’t begin at Duékoué last Tuesday. Alas there were others before and elsewhere. For several weeks we have been alerting international bodies to the existance of mass graves in the west of the country and certain parts of Abidjan.There will be justice and those guilty will be punished. 9.45am: Selay Koussai, our correspondent in Abidjan, describes the “hectic” scenes in the city when the UN and France bombarded Gbagbo’s forces : We could see the fireballs and the smoke in the sky as UN helicopters and French helicopters started bombing the military barracks under the control of pro-Gbagbo forces. It was hectic. We have never witnessed things like this before. In the coming hours we will have a clear idea of the people injured in these bombings. People are saying many people have been injured. The TV station has been targeted, and RTI, which is the state run TV, is off-air today. He [Gbagbo] might be at the presidential palace or at the cathedral, because many people have been urged to form a human shield in the cathedral. The denouement is not so far away. We are witnessing the last hours of this show down between the pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara forces. The area of Mr Gbagbo has been cornered off by the UN troops and the French forces. _ 9.36am: Here’s some more information on the claim by Ouattara’s ambassador to France that Gbagbo is negotiating his surrender. Ali Coulibaly told France Info: I’m not trying to be demagogical or to add to the disinformation, but according to the information that I have, he’s negotiating his surrender because he has realised the end is near. The game is up. Coulibaly did not provide any further details or say where he got the information. 9.32am: The crisis is trending on Twitter at #civ2010 and #civsocial , according to Global Voices . 9.21am: This YouTube video purportedly shows the assault by UN MI-24 helicopters on the Akouedo military camp last night. – 9.18am: Good morning. Welcome to live coverage of events in the Ivory Coast where forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, widely recognised as the winner of last year’s election, have launched a “final offensive” on Abidjan, in a bid to oust the incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo. • Gbagbo’s presidential palace has been surrounded by troops loyal to Ouattara after UN helicopters attacked Gbagbo’s heavy weaponry . • A spokesman for Ouattara’s government told Reuters his troops had already taken control of Gbagbo’s official presidential residence , but his statement could not be independently verified. Patrick Achi said he did not know whether Gbagbo was there or not. • Ouattara’s ambassador to France, Ally Coulibaly, told French radio RFI he believes Laurent Gbagbo is “negotiating his surrender” , France24 reports . Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo Alassane Ouattara France United Nations Haroon Siddique Matthew Weaver guardian.co.uk
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Former news editor and current chief reporter arrested after presenting themselves at separate London police stations The former news editor and current chief reporter from the News of the World are in police custody after being arrested, following allegations of phone hacking. Ian Edmondson and Neville Thurlbeck had voluntarily presented themselves at different London police stations this morning and were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to tap into or hack mobile communications. It is expected their homes will be searched by officers at midday. Edmondson, NoW’s former head of news, is being questioned by officers at Wimbledon police station. Thurlbeck, the paper’s chief reporter, is at Kingston police station. The arrests are the first salvo by Scotland Yard’s new hacking investigation, Operation Weeting, whose tasks include establishing whether there are grounds for bringing further prosecutions in the phone-hacking scandal. Edmondson and Thurlbeck will probably be released later this afternoon after the search of their homes is complete. The two men have been implicated in the long-running scandal through documents seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator employed by the newspaper. Mulcaire says Edmondson was the journalist who commissioned him to hack answerphone messages of the football agent Sky Andrew. Edmondson, who was sacked from NoW in January, denies any wrongdoing. Thurlbeck was interviewed by police last autumn. No charge has been brought against either man, both of whom have denied all involvement in criminal activity. The arrests come on the day that Keir Starmer QC, director of public prosecutions, hears evidence at a home affairs committee from witnesses into the unauthorised intercepting of communications. Only one reporter, the former royal editor Clive Goodman, has been convicted of a crime as part of the scandal. He and Mulcaire were sentenced to jail terms in January 2007. No other reporters or executives were questioned by the initial police investigation. It was only after a series of high court cases brought by the actor Sienna Miller, the football pundit Andy Gray and others that the Met were forced to reveal material found on Mulcaire’s computer, during a 2006 raid of his home. Last Friday, a high court judge ordered NoW to make Mulcaire’s notes available to the growing list of people suing the paper. Justice Geoffrey Vos, who is in charge of the hacking cases, ordered “rolling disclosure” to all claimants. Hundreds of thousands of emails will now be handed over to alleged victims. Phone hacking News of the World News International Glenn Mulcaire News Corporation Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers Police Amelia Hill guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …NY Times Exec. Editor Keller Contemplates Being ‘Frog-Marched’ in Shackles Over Publishing State Secrets
April 5, 2011 No CommentFor “ Secrecy in Shreds ,” his latest column for the New York Times’s Sunday magazine, Executive Editor Bill Keller conducted a surprisingly affable conversation with conservative journalist Gabriel Schoenfeld of Commentary magazine, who last year published “Necessary Secrets,” a book highly critical of Keller and the Times revealing details of and thus wrecking two successful terrorist-fighting programs — the National Security Agency’s secret eavesdropping,, and SWIFT, a Treasury Department program that screened international banking records for suspicious activity. Last year, Gabriel Schoenfeld, a veteran of the conservative magazine Commentary, published a book that explained how The New York Times could be prosecuted under the Espionage Act. The book said a lot of other things too, but you’ll understand why that particular proposition stuck in my mind. At one point Schoenfeld conjured an image of authorities “ frog-marching a shackled Bill Keller into court.” Schoenfeld’s book, “Necessary Secrets,” is a valuable history-with-attitude of the long war between the American government and the press over the protection and disclosure of secrets. Two stories this newspaper broke were particularly troublesome to him: one, in 2005, about the National Security Agency’s antiterror-agents’ eavesdropping on Americans without warrants ; the other, published in 2006, about the Treasury Department’s screening international banking records. Recently I invited Schoenfeld in for a conversation about secrecy, a subject blown back to life by the phenomenon of WikiLeaks. Regarding Keller’s “eavesdropping on Americans without warrants” formula; as Times Watch has pointed out again and again, the N.S.A. spy program monitored international communications from suspected terrorists in America who aren’t necessarily U.S. citizens. It's an important distinction, one the Times invariably failed to note, perhaps in order to make the program sound more like an invasion of privacy than it truly was. While unrepentant over the wrecking of the anti-terror programs, Keller confessed to some slight discomfort with the state of leaking of state secrets in the Internet age, which the Times has been in the forefront of, first with the two anti-terror programs and then the publishing of secret diplomatic cables from WikiLeaks. The digital age has changed the dynamics of disobedience in at least one respect. It used to be that someone who wanted to cheat on his vow of secrecy had to work at it. Daniel Ellsberg tried for a year to make the Pentagon Papers public. There was a lot of time to have second thoughts or to get caught. It is now at least theoretically possible for a whistle-blower or a traitor to act almost immediately and anonymously. Click on a Web site, upload a file, go home and wait. Keller and Schoenfeld agree that Times editors should not have gone to jail over the leaking of anti-terrorist program details; Schoenfeld would have called for a prosecution and a symbolic fine. Schoenfeld did get in a crack at the Times’s expense: “I’m against reform,” he told me, referring to the new leak-punishing proposals. “ The system has been working reasonably well, with a couple of egregious exceptions — most of them involving The New York Times .”
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