Real World News

Taken from The Guardian http://www.guardian....rs-compensation I know it's not UK Police but it might be an issue with the future protests coming up, although I doubt you could get hold of the police radio transmissions as they are scrambled now, or would radio transmissions be covered under an FOI request?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12002727 New guidance for prosecutors says they should treat "very carefully" cases of people retracting rape allegations. Last month a woman was jailed for falsely retracting rape claims, but freed after the appeal court heard she suffered violent abuse by her husband. Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer said such a decision must be examined, including whether the person was "under pressure or frightened". Any resulting prosecution in England and Wales will now need DPP approval. Mr Starmer announced the launch of a consultation exercise in the new year on the factors to consider before bringing a prosecution for perverting the …

As this is an emotive subject and one that some on here are affected by and everyone has an opinion on (in one way or another) and also to prevent further derailment of the various threads relating to policing of the protests regarding this issue I felt it prudent to start a dedicated topic Hard hats on - this could get messy! Anyway - where were we. Oh yes My opinion is that the fee rise is a 'lesser of 2 evils' approach. Yes it's regrettable but it's the only viable option put forward so far. The labour government drove this country into the rocks and so the conservative led coalition government MUST make drastic cuts and in order to make those cuts to the Further E…

My mum has just started looking for a new car for my Brother. She went to a private seller today of a Vauxhall Astra. The bloke has told her it was previously stolen but all is now ok as he has an HPI check but did not show her this. She left a £50 deposit. I ran my own HPI check when she told me about this and it is flagged up as having outstanding finance and Theft from insurance. It has a number for the insurance company so will ring them tomorrow. She wants me to go down with them tomorrow to view the vehicle. Anyone have any tips on what to look out for? Obviously I have recommended not to go through with the sale. ** I know the disclaimer just after advice ple…

For anybody that remembers Frank Serpico NYPD below is an interesting article from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/nyregion/24serpico.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.bbc.co.uk...dshire-11978007 i wonder if the driver had a blow out allso no one was killed.

The tunnel was so special, that the reporter had to wear "special protective head gear".....aka a helmet with a torch on it. BBC News

i wonder why he wasnt tried in Goa? Shame he wasnt sent to prison there!

For any of you history buffs out there, Custers Flag from the battle of the Little Big Horn was sold today at auction: http://www.usatoday.com/money/2010-12-10-custer-flag-sold_N.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11942814

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-11948831 A former shop owner whose sandwiches gave 47 West Midlands Police officers food poisoning has been given a four-month suspended jail sentence. Muriel Morris, 70, of Great Barr, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to four counts of breaking food hygiene laws at Birmingham Magistrates' Court. Nine of the officers were taken to hospital after eating the sandwiches at a protest briefing on 4 July, 2009. The food was from Meal Machine Cafe, Nechelles, which Morris no longer runs. The magistrates ordered her to pay £16,482.70 in legal costs. Morris, of Dorrington Green, was also ordered by magistrates on Mon…

I've been reading some of these wikileaks US Embassy cables. Interesting stuff!! Internet hacktivists are claiming to have brought down the Mastercard website as revenge for the firm withdrawing services to Wikileaks. The Anonymous group of hackers have also brought down the website of the Swedish prosecutors office which is pursuing founder Julian Assange. It has pledged to launch denial-of-service attacks on websites it sees as anti-Wikileaks. Earlier it hit the Swiss bank that froze Mr Assange's assets. PayPal, which has stopped processing donations to Wikileaks, has also been targeted. Anonymous is a loose-knit group of hacktivists, with links to the notorious m…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-11951297 A former contestant in the BBC business talent show The Apprentice has been charged with fraud offences. Mortgage broker Christopher Farrell, 29, from The Wirral, Merseyside, is accused of four counts of fraud by false representation. He has been bailed to appear at Plymouth Magistrates' Court on 22 December, Devon and Cornwall Police said. The charges follow his arrest in Plymouth on 4 August. Mr Farrell was fired at the end of the eighth episode of the current series of The Apprentice, which was filmed in autumn 2009.

Taken from The Register : http://www.theregist...science_advice/ So basically instead of being told something they might not want to hear they are getting rid of any form of independant scientific advice. Perhaps they might start reading entrails next?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11850908 More than 90% of taxis in some parts of England might not be properly insured, an audit leaked to the BBC suggests. Concerns have been raised after checks on 1,200 licenced minicab and hackney carriage drivers across several English local authorities, outside London. The study, which was carried out over the past 12 months, found 93% of those sampled were not properly insured. It raises concerns for taxi passengers injured in crashes, as well as vehicles involved in accidents with cabs. An industry body, the National Private Hire Association, said it believed the audit was small and not representative. In some cases t…