Sir Alec Jeffreys: DNA Database And The Innocents

It was on the 10th of September 1984, at 9.05 am, that Sir Alec Jeffreys, in his lab at Leicester University, accidentally made a world-changing discovery:

Said Jeffreys: "I was on my own in the darkroom at 9.05 on September 10, 1984, when that pattern came up and I twigged what we had stumbled upon. Just that single bit of X-ray film threw open a door we didn't even know was there. It opened the whole science of forensic DNA."

This 1980s discovery has had a tremendous influence on crime detection, and, less happily, led to the setting-up of the current UK National Database. Which, as we all know, retains the DNA of many, many innocent people.

Now Sir Alec has spoken up in an interview with the Guardian:

"My view is very clear that if you have been convicted of a crime then you owe it to society to be retained on that database for catching in the future should you reoffend. But the retention of entirely innocent people is a whole different issue. There is a sort of presumption here that if they haven't committed any crime now, then they will in the future."

He also called for improved genetic testing procedures, warning that the current system could result in a miscarriage of justice.

Jeffreys' genetic discoveries at Leicester University in the mid-1980s enabled the establishment of the national DNA database 10 years later; it is now the largest in the world, storing details on more than 5 million people.

Thank you, Sir Alec, for speaking out against the guilty-until-proven-innocent ethos of the Database. Click on the red text to read the Guardian article.

Jacqui Smith - Very Devious...

Jacqui Smith, old Hitler in Knickers herself, is at it again: not content with an illegal DNA Database and CCTV everywhere, etc, she now proposes training people, like shopping centre managers, to inform on "suspicious" types.

Shopping centre and store managers will be among 60,000 British workers trained for action on a new frontline against terror.

The workers' army is at the centrepiece of a new government anti-terror strategy unveiled today by Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, who said police, security and intelligence agencies could not be “solely” relied upon to tackle the threat.

The strategy will involve enlising the "widest range" of people and making other citizens more vigilant about the threat of an attack, Ms Smith said in a round of broadcast interviews this morning. It could also see official funding withdrawn from organisations that flirt with extremism, even if they remain within the letter of the law.

Jacqui Smith plays on the terrorism threat, plays on fear, to enslave us. I know I'm out of step with the vast majority of people on this subject - but you see, I'm not keen on EastEnders, reality TV shows and the latest "It" people. And I can't stand Big Brother.

Jacqui Smith - Hitler In Knickers, And The DNA Database Again...

Despite the European Court of Human Rights ruling against the UK DNA Database, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has decided that thousands of innocent people will remain on the Database. See the Guardian article here.

Just to give some comfort and joy, here's how one man ended up on the Database.

A good friend of ours, in his 40s, and like ourselves a care worker with a totally clean police record, was accused of "hitting" a neighbour on the arm. Nobody witnessed it. No marks were left. Of course, our friend denied the charge - and the neighbour is well known in his local community as a trouble maker.

But our friend was arrested. He denied the accusation, no further action was taken, but our friend's DNA was taken and is now on the Database.

And that's just one example of how innocent people find themselves on the Database. In a democracy, there can be no excuse for arresting people and retaining their DNA on hearsay. And anybody could find themselves in exactly the same situation. Just accuse somebody you dislike of hitting you on the arm and see what happens to them. This should not be happening. And there is no excuse for retaining DNA already taken. If anything, victims of this abomination should be granted compensation for the trauma they have been put through.

All this is at the behest of Jacqui Smith, whose own good character was recently called into question.

Democracy in England is dead. And we are ruled by people, like Ms Smith, who are evil. No more. No less.

More Snooping...

A DNA Database, containing the DNA of millions of innocent people. CCTV cameras following our every move. Alarming new powers for the police. Databases to watch our travelling arrangements. And now our e-mails, web activity and phone calls are also to be studied. Even your local town hall will have access. Which makes things rather alarming for sites like this, which campaign against the dishonest capers of Government organisations like these. What excuses will be found to close down blogs like this, and persecute their owners?

Welcome to Orwell's 1984.

I had a very disturbed night last night - sometimes things get to me, and last night, in the wee, small hours, I was frightened. Frightened of this dishonest and authoritarian government. Frightened of the lack of an effective Opposition. Terrified by the EU monster. Scared witless by CCTV and Databases.

I slept a broken, fitful sleep. When I awoke this morning, I stepped into the garden to breathe the air and try to restore some sense of well being. My neighbour appeared, on her way to work, and stopped for a word. Feeling it my duty to spread the word, I told her about my disturbed night, my fears about the Government and the surveillance state.

She looked at me with polite interest, then said:

"Ooh, it's terrible to have a bad night. I had this dream the other week - I was on this coach in Great Yarmouth and Jerry Springer was sitting right behind me..."

John McDonnell - Heathrow Third Runway Plan: A Disgrace To The Democracy Of This Country

From the BBC:

A Labour MP has been suspended from the House of Commons for five days after angry exchanges over the decision to approve a new Heathrow runway.

John McDonnell was sanctioned after he picked up the mace, the ornamental club which represents the royal authority of Parliament, in a breach of protocol.

The Hayes and Harlington MP said the decision not to hold a vote on the runway was a "national disgrace".

Anyone manhandling the mace is considered in contempt of Parliament.

'Disgrace'

During a statement by Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon on Heathrow Mr McDonnell left his seat, grabbed the mace - which dates from the reign of Charles II - and put it down on an empty bench on the Labour side of the House.

While doing so, he shouted: "It's a disgrace to the democracy of this country."

The runway will wipe the village of Sipson from the map. Ironically, Gordon Brown, who presides over the current UK Government, could not inflict the same horrors on his own constituents as the Scottish Parliament controls their planning procedures.

Whatever happened to democracy? Whatever happened to accountability?

In England it is dead.

Thanks to the Scottish Raj at Westminster, unaccountable-to-England MPs representing Scots and Welsh constituencies, and MPs representing English constituencies who resolutely refuse to represent England's local or national interests, keeping their snouts buried deep in the trough.

Sickening.

Well done to John McDonnell, even if he's only just become aware that something's rotten in Westminster Heaven.

Take a look at the broader issues, John.

UPDATE:

“Gordon Brown has introduced a Bill specifically designed to circumvent current planning law and force a third runway through” - Susan Kramer MP

Gareth has more - just click on the red text to go to Toque.

Jacqui Smith And The DNA Database - Hitler In Knickers

From the BBC, here is the judgement of the European Court Of Human Rights regarding the UK DNA Database keeping DNA and fingerprints of two men unconvicted of any crime:

The court found that the police's actions were in violation of Article 8 - the right to respect for private and family life - of the European Convention on Human Rights.

It also said it was "struck by the blanket and indiscriminate nature of the power of retention in England and Wales".

The judges ruled the retention of the men's DNA "failed to strike a fair balance between the competing public and private interests," and that the UK government "had overstepped any acceptable margin of appreciation in this regard".

Sub-Fuhrer Jacqui Smith is determined that some innocent people will remain on the DNA Database no matter what. Say I accused you of punching me on the arm this year - and you ended up on the DNA Database because I said that, although there was no evidence and you were not charged or convicted with any crime. Well, you may or not stay on the Database - it all depends on what Dictator Jacqui and her pals decide.

In all these situations, where it's the word of one party against another, the DNA should be removed from Database. There is no excuse for keeping DNA on accusation and hearsay. Think of the dreadful possibilities that opens up - DNA being kept on accusation alone - and be careful not to make any enemies!

Jacqui Smith is stunningly arrogant, thick, and an out-and-out dictator. She really is sick. How on earth did she get to become Home Secretary?

Read more about Ms Smith and her Database here.

1984 Lives!

From Old Holborn. Click on text for link:

Leg-iron here. OH is otherwise occupied, as you see above. (picture pinched from Guido)

Today, every MP should have a copy of 1984. Every one of them should then look at this image and then read the book. Twice.

Old Holborn and around ten other people have been stopped and searched by PCSO's. For walking. In fancy dress. In daylight.

There was no protest. No slogans, no chanting, just a walk. OH wondered if it was still legal to walk the streets dressed as he pleased, unmolested by authority. It seems not.

What threat do these PCSO's imagine a small group in fancy dress would pose? Terrorism? Don't they imagine for a moment that the last thing a terrorist would do when approaching a target is to look as conspicuous as possible?

And here's a TV character from the real 1984 - Diana, head of the charming Visitors in the sci-fi hit V. The world was being ruled by beautiful people from far above, but in reality they were hard hearted, conniving reptiles...

1984 - Orwell's Version Becomes Reality

Experience the horrors of 1984 - no, not that one!

We've viewed with concern the new powers the UK Government has given itself in the name of anti-terrorism, and the pathetic eagerness of some to give up hard fought for civil liberties. And guess what? The new laws have already been used to spy on perfectly ordinary, everyday people - suspected of a highly trivial, non-criminal misdemeanour.

Under the New Labour fright regime, spying on innocent people is a functioning aspect of our lives. The council in Poole, Dorset have taken advantage of the anti-terror laws brought in by the Blair part of this disgraceful government. Poole Borough Council has disclosed that it had legitimately used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to spy on a family. This family had been "shopped" to the council by an unknown person. For two weeks the middle-class family was followed by council officials who wanted to establish whether they had given a false address within the catchment area of an oversubscribed school to secure a place for their three-year-old.

Read the full, startling and infuriating tale over at A View From Middle England - here.