@gruff@stroud.social
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

gruff

@gruff@stroud.social

LineageOS | Welsh Independence | Trader | Privacy Enthusiast | Green | #FGR

Interests in #Police accountability, #StopSearch and #anti-racism. ex-Town Councillor, ex-Stop & Search Scrutiny Panel. Support Forest Green Rovers. #Stroud Green Party member. #GPEW Most time spent flitting between #Gloucestershire and #Glamorgan. #Akkoma Personal blog: https://write.as/glospolicess/

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

In 1800's the British government attempts to set up a police force for London were met with opposition.

People were suspicious of the idea of a large and possibly armed police force, and feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.

The police force that was established is what we now know as the Metropolitan Police.

#Police #PeelianPrinciples

gruff,
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

Sir Robert Peel developed principles to define an ethical police force. These principles were later distilled into nine points:-

  • To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and severity of legal punishment.
  • To recognise always that the power of the police to fulfil their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour, and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
  • To recognise always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public means also the securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing observance of laws.
  • To recognise always that the extent to which the co-operation of the public can be secured diminishes proportionately the necessity of the use of physical force and compulsion for achieving police objectives.
  • To seek and preserve public favour, not by pandering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in complete independence of policy, and without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws, by ready offering of individual service and friendship to all members of the public without regard to their wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humour, and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
  • To use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to secure observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.
  • To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
  • To recognise always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary of avenging individuals or the State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty.
  • To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.
gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

Maybe we should have National Service for older voters too? Those approaching, or just past, retirement age. I wonder if that group of voters would eagerly support “compulsory volunteering” if it involved them too?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/25/sunak-promises-to-bring-back-national-service-for-18-year-olds

#ukpol #DadsArmy

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

and so it begins.....

A Conservative councillor on Gloucestershire County Council has defected to the Green Party.

The Conservatives no longer have a majority.

Cllr Williams said her decision had been prompted by having lost faith in the Conservative Party nationally. “Over the past months I have grown increasingly disillusioned and angry and I cannot - morally or ethically - ignore my conflicting views as an individual and as a Conservative Party member.

rolle, to fediverse
@rolle@mementomori.social avatar

Former CEO of Twitter wanted to build a social protocol no-one can control, like SMTP or HTTP for social media. Bluesky’s ATProto was supposed to be an open source protocol that Twitter could eventually utilize, but then Musk happened and Bluesky started taking it to the wrong direction and everything fell apart in Dorsey’s mind.

A very revealing interview. I now see even more future in W3C’s ActivityPub.

https://www.piratewires.com/p/interview-with-jack-dorsey-mike-solana

#X

gruff,
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

@reiver
Thank-you I've just learnt of the existence of Farcaster! https://blog.thirdweb.com/what-is-farcaster/
@rolle

fkamiah17, to UKpolitics
@fkamiah17@toot.wales avatar

"The Green Party is becoming a dustbin, a repository not only for climate activists but for disgruntled hard leftists leaving the Labour Party, and some fairly unpleasant Free Palestine activists as well."
Peter Mandelson to Matt Chorley on Times Radio, yesterday

gruff,
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

@fkamiah17 I work in a market town in rural Gloucestershire. A Tory heartland in the shires. I'm engaged with the local community and a small business owner. Like many other Green Party members in our district we stood for election and won 22 seats. We are now the largest group at Stroud District Council.

So, for Mandelson to say that “The Green Party is becoming a dustbin, a repository not only for climate activists, but for disgruntled hard leftists." makes me think that he is so far out of touch with the ethos of the Green Party and the concerns of the electorate that his opinion is completely irrelevant. Maybe it is Mr Mandelson who should be consigned to the dustbin of history?

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

With only Salford left to declare the results of the smaller parties in are:

Green Party won 181 councillors Reform won……….2

Hey, BBC & all! Can you reflect this in your broadcasting please? Sick of hearing so much of Reform!

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

Gosh, where Greens are targeting they are doing well. Quite a few like this.

Byker (Newcastle Upon Tyne) council election result:
GRN: 56.8% (+42.2)
LAB: 35.6% (-22.3)
CON: 5.1% (-17.1)
LDEM: 2.5% (-2.8)

Green GAIN from Labour.

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

So, Rishi Sunak confirms 25 courtrooms have been found to immediately process Rwanda asylum claims. What a kick in the teeth for the thousands of people waiting for their day in court due to the government letting the backlog spiral out of control.

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

As @davidallengreen forcefully argues the Rule of Law is as dependent on our assumptions about it as its actual enforcement;

we expect the law to be upheld even if mostly we just conduct ourselves as if it would be, in extremis, with little experience of it actually being upheld.

The ongoing crisis in the County Court system, which is seeing the enforcement fail for myriad reasons, will thus, in the long term poison the well of our belief in the law!

https://emptycity.substack.com/p/law-and-lore-and-state-failure?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

gruff,
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

@ChrisMayLA6
There maybe a crisis in the County Court system, but Rishi Sunak it seems can find 25 courtrooms (and, I assume, judges) to immediately process Rwanda asylum claims.
@davidallengreen

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

Rumour has it that Labour will abstain on the Rwanda bill, in the Lords today, allowing it to pass.

gruff, to worldwithoutus
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

Wise words from Carla Denyer of the UK Green Party, who questioned at what level the decision to actually engage British aircraft was made in last nights events in the Middle East:-

“I am deeply concerned about how this decision to deepen our involvement was made and in what further action the government proposes to involve UK armed forces. Britain’s military involvement must be scrutinised and debated by parliament. We should not allow ourselves to be dragged into a Middle East war.

Last night's violence demonstrates again that there must be resolution to the interconnected conflicts of the Middle East, including in Gaza where a ceasefire remains urgent. We are at a moment of grave peril and it is incumbent on all countries, including the UK, to find ways to reduce rather than contribute to conflict.”

Full statement here:-

https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2024/04/14/green-party-response-to-the-iranian-attack-on-israel/

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

Revolut does not have a UK banking licence.

If you are a victim of fraud you'll be SOL.

Best advice; close your account and move conventional bank elsewhere.

Please boost to make people in the UK aware.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/apr/10/im-a-victim-of-scammers-but-revolut-says-no-to-a-refund

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

Given the appalling atrocities unfolding in Gaza, it is more than depressing to know that our rights to boycott those responsible were removed by legislation in the UK last year.

All the warnings, such as it "essentially gives exceptional impunity to Israel" were made at the time.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66086671

#gaza #bds #ukpol

fabio, to random
@fabio@manganiello.social avatar

Me: “After a long consideration, I’ve decided not to defederate Threads from my personal instance, because the benefits of being able to reach out to my friends and relatives using the open tools that I’m contributing to build and run outweigh the risks, but I’ll keep an eye on it, I may reserve the right to block Threads later, and I respect and understand those who prefer to block them instead“.

Easily triggered strangers: “You self-entitled privileged cis tech bro, you are not doing enough to protect vulnerable minorities from the fascist harassers in the world out there, I hope you die from a gut infection“.

So much for “the Fediverse is an open place that embraces diversity and mutual respect where everybody should feel safe”.

gruff,
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

@fabio This really is a very good post which explains the various privacy scenarios with 'your' instance on the Fediverse. I run a small Akkoma instance, pretty much for myself.

I have to admit that I only get the gist rather than having a thorough understanding of it all.

I wonder if someone has the skills to make this into an infographic to provide people with understanding and reassurance?

@happyborg

gruff,
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

@fabio Maybe somebody like @evanprodromou has a take on this? I'm certain that better education (simple to digest infographics) would go a long way quell the hysteria. The reality is that this is not just a convo specific to Threads, it's about interoperability more generally isn't it?

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

My decision last year to try and do something positive in the community is coming into sharper focus and beginning to feel much more real.

On a positive note I've got further than Lawrence Fox in the electoral process....

selzero, to random
@selzero@syzito.xyz avatar

Remember this TERF JK Rowling supporter Dick Morrell?

So many people blocked him for being a giant TERF that his account became useless.

Well, he has a new account and is continuing that BS agenda.

Let people know so they can block early if they need protection from trash like this🙏

https://social.vivaldi.net/@cloudguy/112095941420104781

Dick Morrell @cloudguy she wasn't attacking minorities It was intolerance that caused reaction and a demonstration by many of an inability to deal with the reality of life She didn't do anything for anyone to react to The only thing that happened was a bandwagon arrived for folk to demonstrate vocal intolerance and lack of community perspective Starting with those inane enough to block her

gruff,
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

@selzero Status update. Sorry, I couldn't help but check.... lol.

Wen, to UKpolitics
@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar

Tory donor said Diane Abbott made him ‘want to hate all black women’

Frank Hester, who has given £10 million to the party in the past year, said at a meeting in 2019 that leftwing MP ‘should be shot’

She is clearly the wrong type of ‘black' - and this is one of the men who own the country!

https://archive.is/G4qkk (no paywall)

gruff,
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

@Wen The Tory apologist on this morning could only bring himself to say that the words were just rude and wrong.

To a Tory no comment can ever be racist, misogynistic, islamophobic, transphobic etc. etc. merely just rude or wrong. The rot runs deep in the nasty party.

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

Gove just doesn't get (or maybe he does) that more and more of the population, be it individuals or grassroot organisations, actually want to challenge and undermine Westminster, its inherent corruption and the vile the prejudice it seems to endorse. People are vexed with our two main political parties, our politicians, the archaic and inequitable union and our unrepresentative voting system. People want to see some institutions abolished and others transformed, not preserved. People want to see a fairer, more inclusive, more progressive liberal democracy. Some want a modern democracy that may even see Britain as group of independent nation states.

Gove's redefinition of extremism is an outrageous attack on collective vision and personal belief. There are organisations and political groups that are proud of their radical agendas. They know that together we can build a better society. But these groups, in Gove's eyes, are extremist because they seek to undermine the establishment, its institutions and his own conservative dogma.

We have to stand up to this very dangerous authoritarian diktat from an increasingly dangerous and desperate government.

I'm proud to be an extremist.

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

I thought they banned these! :)

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

This is interesting. A petition, in Germany, about getting their Universities to stop promoting Facebook/Meta, Alphabet/Google, TikTok et. al. for corporate communications.

Instead requesting that communications be made using the Fediverse.

The same is true in this country (UK). I came off Facebook for two of three years after Brexit, but found myself being sucked into it again (because it's difficult not to and various community groups require it!) and it's not a healthy environment.

I think we should start thinking about weaning the Town, District and County Councils, along with other public service organisations, off these propriety platforms.

The major social media platforms operate by collating very personal information, all sold to data brokers, and along with the increasing use of so-called AI methods exposes users to ever more subtle manipulation.

These American platforms really do represent a serious threat to our democracy.

More information and background on the petition here......
https://www.openpetition.de/petition/online/open-letter-to-the-german-rectors-conference-hrk-on-the-use-of-social-media

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar
gruff, to Horizon
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

It's hardly surprising that control was lost given the turnover of Post Office minsters since the computer system was introduced.

1997 - 1999: Ian McCartney (Lab)
1999 - 2001: Alan Johnson (Lab)
2001 - 2002: Douglas Alexander (Lab)
2002 - 2004: Stephen Timms (Lab)
2004 - 2006: Gerry Sutcliffe (Lab)
2006 - 2007: Jim Fitzpatrick (Lab)
2007 - 2009: Pat McFadden (Lab)
2009 - 2010: Lord Young (Con)
2010 - 2012: Ed Davey (Lib Dem)
2012 - 2012: Norman Lamb (Lib Dem)
2012 - 2013: Jo Swinson (Lib Dem)
2013 - 2014: Jenny Willott (Lib Dem)
2014 - 2015: Jo Swinson (Lib Dem)
2015 - 2016: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)
2016 - 2018: Margot James (Con)
2018 - 2018: Andrew Griffiths (Con)
2018 - 2020: Kelly Tolhurst (Con)
2020 - 2022: Paul Scully (Con)
2022 - 2022: Jane Hunt (Con)
2022 - 2022: Dean Russell (Con)
2022 - Present: Kevin Hollinrake (Con)

gruff, to random
@gruff@stroud.social avatar

So, that TV show has stirred up a lot of interest in the Post Office saga. I've been following the Inquiry on the live feed for over a year now!

It's become pretty clear, that POL, being able to bring its own prosecutions was a big part of the problem. Even the Police have the CPS as a check and balance.

But I think there are many other issues too.

Core systems and infrastructure outsourced to third parties, offering/encumbered by legal separation. PFI, this is a consequence, I guess.

Commercial pressures hollowing out expertise. Poor calibre staff reduced to box ticking. Training seen as a cost etc.

Also, from listening to the Inquiry, it seems to me that laws and best practice are changing at speed and becoming increasingly complex. It's almost as if companies like POL cannot keep up. Yet, other, older law considers computer evidence always correct, which is bizzare.

It's a real mess which stems from breakup with Royal Mail, I think.

But at the end of the day it was the UK Govt. that created POL and it was also ultimately responsible for running the Post Office. Govt. defined the ethos, they appointed the leadership.

There is a Govt. minister who is meant to oversee all this, but given the rate of change and calibre of ministerial appointments nowadays it's hardly surprising that control was lost.

#PostOffice #pol #ukpol

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