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Filtering by Tag: London
Judicial Images - Workshops and Public Lecture
September 25, 2014 Nickie Phillips
Prof Les Moran at Birkbeck College, London has organized the Judicial Images: Production, Management and Consumption workshops and lecture series.
"The visual image of the judge has long performed an important symbolic role legitimising power and decision making. It takes many forms – sculptures, paintings, photographs, film, television. The audiences are multiple. This project explores how official and unofficial images of the judiciary are created, managed and consumed."
For more on visual research methods, go here.
tags courts, international, London, criminal justice, visual criminology
Rehabilitation and Good Eats: London's The Clink Restaurant
May 16, 2014 Nickie Phillips
By Staci Strobl
I like to eat and I support the ideal of the rehabilitation of offenders. So what could be more perfect that The Clink Restaurant at Brixton Prison in South London? I immediately made a reservation (in this case, well in advance because the prison must do its security checks on guests) for my husband and I to enjoy high-class dining, complements of inmates training as chefs, sous-chefs, and waiters. I'll be perfectly honest: the concept is so grand that I was going to love it even if the food was bad. But it most certainly was not. Seared tuna on a bed of sesame oil and greens, Hake and mackerel fried medallions and thrice-fried chips, apple crumble, and fair-trade coffee. Simply delicious.
The Clink is the third such restaurant opened in the United Kingdom in recent years. The brainchild of Chef Alberto Crisci, and founder of the The Clink Charities, the prisoners work a 40-hour week, training towards the national certifications they need to enter the restaurant and hotel industries upon release. Thereafter, they receive additional mentoring not only in securing job placement, but also with social and psychological issues that may trigger re-offending.
Anyone who has been keeping up with the rehabilitation literature knows that no one program fits all, but that in general, job training programs are the most likely to succeed with the biggest proportion of offenders. And, according to the statistics provided by The Clink, and verified by an independent examiner, since its founding in 2009, the recidivism rates after one year of release are between 12.5% and 14%. Compare this to the national average of 49% and it appears the program is a winner. Granted, these inmates are selected for the program because they have the potential for success (and in that sense may not be typical of most U.K. prisoners), nonetheless, the success rates are quite suggestive that the program makes a real difference in prisoners' lives.
Could the model be imported to the U.S.? Given the cultural emphasis on consumerism and work-- as in, there is something wrong with you if you can't consume because you don't have a job-- it would seem that the program would resonate for American prisoners as well, providing them an avenue for returning to mainstream society in a dignified way. Unfortunately, the political buy-in from the public for such a program would certainly be harder to come by. In the U.K., though there are strains and pockets of retributivism, they aren't as deeply engrained as they are in the U.S. The British couple sitting next to us at The Clink speculated that at least half of Britons have a compassionate stance toward prisoner-integration programs, more so in an urban environment like London. Alas, I am not sure half of the American population would be inclined to support such an intensive program which may provide better job training than that to which the law-abiding citizen has access.
As a criminologist, I hope for a quality social science study of The Clink in order to glean out more clearly what works and how much it works. I would do it myself, if I could ever find the time with my ten other projects in the fire. But if anyone reading this needs a dissertation topic, it's up for grabs.
tags corrections, Europe, food, incarceration, international, justice, London, punishment, recidivism, rehabilitation, social justice
Comics Unmasked, Mannequins Masked
By Staci Strobl. Crimcast Co-Founder Review of the British Library's exhibit "Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK," May 2 - August 19, 2014
Comics often get tagged as being more ideologically subversive than they actually are-- at least this is the case with mainstream American comic books. But "Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK" is a must-see for anyone who appreciates the subversive in popular graphic art forms, and the subversive is probably more at the forefront of the British experience with this art form than the American. In fact, British independent and underground comics are ripe with depictions of social deviance which go on to influence mainstream works. Any criminologist with their eye on popular culture will find it fascinating to see so many works from a wide variety of writers, artists, publishers, in one exhibition.
Putting aside the superhero section of the exhibition, which appropriately nods its head to the quintessentially American genre while celebrating such home-grown successes as Judge Dredd— but also takes the exhibition too far afield from its primary purpose— the exhibition's thematic arrangement of material spanning two centuries invokes interesting connections in the world of graphics across the ages. I was particularly taken by the juxtaposition of pages from Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell (1999) and the Illustrated Police News (13 October, 1888) "coverage" of the Ripper murders under the exhibition's "violence and gore" thematic grouping. We see how the use of black-and-white ink, shadows, small spaces, and flailing arms in the more contemporary work was a brilliantly stylized representation of the Victorian illustrations and also a testament to the enduring fascination with serial killing. People in the West just can't get enough of these tales of murderous mayhem and transgression, and comics are a perfect medium to deliver such gruesome content.
Occasionally a juxtaposition left me scratching my head, such as the inclusion of London Illustrated News' 1883 Christmas supplement featuring ladies looking for suitors in romantic dress, dancing, telling ghost stories, with descriptive, but not remotely subversive, captions. Here, the exhibition has us considering the theme of "social ladder" (perhaps a polite British way of saying "class") and certainly the supplement is depicting a very uncritical 19th century notion of ladies of high class. This is placed next to "Lord Snooty and His Pals" (1960, Dudley D. Watkins), a comic strip featuring a young Lord Snooty who prefers to ditch his class trappings and hang out with the poor kids. The connection between the two, other than depicting class in Britain, appears unconnected across time and cultural niche. The culture of boys' education in the 20th century and ladies' follies in the 19th are distinct and each world has its own version of illustrated hegemony and counter-hegemony. All I learned from putting them near each other is that it is fun to make fun of class, especially in the U.K., but I didn't learn much about how class operates in these texts across time, nor did the artistic styles seem to inform each other. And, further, who is making fun of whom? Do the texts need to have an obvious critique to be subversive, or am I the subversive, laughing at the class arrogance of marriage-seeking in days gone by? All of this is followed by the overt Class War Comix (Clifford Harper, 1974) in which a long-haired hippie tells us in black and white, "I used to be in politics—but it began to hang me up… You can't lay a trip on people," rounding out a graphic tale of a class-free utopia. I was more confused than ever.
Regardless, there are gems not to miss and of course, the V for Vendettafan does not go away unsatisfied. The iconic British tale of renewed anarchy on Guy Fawkes' Day is the centerpiece. Fans will delight in original scripts for the graphic novel (with edits!) on display. "Good evening London...This is the voice of fate" artwork still packs an emotional punch. And, mannequins in V masks literally people the exhibit in life-size bunches which seem to grow bigger and bigger as the display weaves its path. The exhibition may be conveying that as comics marched forward so did the enthusiasm for them and their counter-cultural messages. At the same time, I found myself irritated by the mannequins, the first one wearing the exhibition's souvenir T-shirt which struck me as a tad too commercial for an exhibition on art and anarchy. And, the mannequins were mostly men, wearing a kind of urban uniform of T-shirt, jacket, jeans, sneakers, and of course, mask. They looked rather ominously conformist and seem to dampen the quirky creativity of the work on display.
With the marching mannequins theme, I didn't need the additional staging of random objects of apocalyptic modernity (gas masks, phones, grainy photos, shattered glass, and redacted documents, oh my!). It will take all of us to prevent the impending crisis was the message I was getting, and yet the best works were idiosyncratic and goofy graphic experiences from rather unique perspectives from within a cultural milieu, playing on mainstream culture, not wearing the same jeans and T-shirt. I marveled at a William S. Burroughs and Malcolm McNeill's comic strip, "The Unspeakable Mr. Hart" (1970, Cyclops), that I had never seen or heard of before, and in Burroughs style was a drug-induced non-linear comment on police brutality, imperial Britain, and colonial desperation. I got the message even as I could also make no sense of it. I also learned, and saw in vivid comparison, that Grant Morrison and Dave McKean's Arkham Asylum (DC, 1989) took a nod from the mystical artistic meanderings of Aleister Crowley and his Thoth tarot deck. Neil Gaiman's introductory comments to a 1989 Sandman script seemed to be as self-congratulating and self-important as I would have expected— and yet what a treat to read it myself, I must admit.
Overall, this exhibition is a must-see for anyone from the popular culture and criminology crowd in range of London between now and its close on August 19, 2014. Though the overall exhibit may not tell a cohesive story, the work on display is truly fascinating in its own right and does give the viewer the sense of Britain's rich and critically acclaimed comics history.
categories Center for Crime & Popular Culture, Home
tags comics, deviance, graphic novels, history, London, media, museum, social justice, United Kingdom, violent crime
The Expansionary Nature of Governance Through Fear: Is it Worth it?
Part 5 of 5 in a series on Risk-Logic and the War on TerrorAditi Gupta, Guest Blogger
Over the last four weekly posts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part, 4), this blog series has been exploring the profoundly social impact that risk-based security policy has on our everyday lives. In using Selchow's framework, I'm not trying to say that we have no agency in this process, and that we are helpless to stop it – quite the contrary. I feel only individual choice will reverse the trajectory of securitization, suspicion and fear that currently dictates how we view the risk of terrorism. By zooming in on the dynamics of depoliticization, responsibilization, and the separation of political decision-making from actuality, I have tried to break down the main pillars of what risk-logic does when it is the main force driving the governance of threats. I believe if we can understand objectively the forces at play within the networks of power that we engage in, we can decide for ourselves whether viewing the problem of terrorism only in terms of the risk of an attack and not the reasons behind one is benefiting our lives. Is this what we want for our future?
This question feeds in to the last dynamic of risk that is engendered by the dispositif of precautionary risk (DPR) mode of governance: expansion. As Selchow explains, the logic of risk implies an imperative to act. It is this dynamic that spurs the expansion of security; the UK government thus cannot not act. As we can see in the U.K., this dynamic inevitably feeds a process of ever-expanding securitization whereby increasing areas are deemed to harbor security threats. In the UK this can be seen in a variety of ways, stemming from the four rationalities driving the DPR. For example, this can be seen in the shift of the debate around tackling terrorism from addressing violence to extremism, from the physical to the imagined. This shift is one that has essentially ensured the securitization of potential thoughts.
It is no longer necessary for someone to physically carry out an act, suspicion of intent is enough to necessitate punishment. This perpetuates a discourse of 'misunderstanding' (as outlined last week) that produces normalized ways of engaging with this perceived risk. In other words, due to the perpetuation of the innate 'bad' label given to the archetypal religious Muslim, society is more likely to accept further curtailments on 'their' rights. As these risk-based decisions are not 'tamed' by an accompanying actuality or any hard evidence beyond the perception of 'riskiness', this form of thinking will always produce a sense that there are further uncertainties to be tamed. This can be seen in the steady expansion of who is deemed 'risky' since 9/11. From 2001-2005, external, foreign elements were seen to be the primary threat, resulting in the rapid securitization of the immigration system to target asylum seekers and immigrants (Amnesty, 2010). After 7/7, however, threats were expanded to include the panoptic surveillance of British citizens to target 'home-grown' enemies. Since then, the yearning for ever greater knowledge has spurred the extension of surveillance to health clinics, schools and universities where doctors and teachers are expected to inform on those under their care. (Liberty, 2007).
The pre-emptive nature of policies deployed by the DPR means that information is always, and always will be, incomplete. However, the desire to project the appearance of control has led to policies based on the expansion of ever-more vague offenses such as the offenses of 'glorification of terrorism' and 'indirect encouragement', and non-prosecution constraining measures, such as the Terrorism Prevention Investigation Measures (TPIMs [Annex 3]), in order to trap those who are suspected, but do not meet the evidentiary threshold required to be charged. Indeed, the acute suspicion of foreign nationals suspected of 'extremist' thoughts but not guilty of carrying out any criminal act, has very recently led to an expansion of executive power to enable the stripping of any naturalized citizen's British citizenship. In recent years, this citizenship stripping has enabled governments to stick to the dogma of zero-risk and assassinate terror suspects through targeted drone strikes: if the suspect no longer exists, there's no need to deal with the problematic prosecution of a crime that hasn't been committed yet.
How this dynamic effects resistance: power dynamics
Consistent with the other dynamics, this process also precipitates at both the micro and macro levels. At the macro-level, Liberty articulates, 'politicians feel like they need to be seen to be doing something in response to the terrorist threat, regardless of whether it wise…counter-productive…whether it's entirely unnecessary'. Amnesty International United Kingdom (AIUK) has commented on the difficulty of fighting expansion of policy due to the combination of future temporality, secret evidence and use of vague offenses. In a 2012 Amnesty International report, resistance to this is seen as 'shadow-boxing' where 'you have no idea if your strategy and points are on the money or wide of the mark'. AIUK has documented how the 'seepage' of the use of secret evidence in the U.K. has managed to dampen the successes gained in chipping away the system of pre-charge detention down to TPIMs, becoming an ever-more permanent feature of the civil sanctioning system with the institutionalization of the Justice and Security Act.
Reprieve and CagePrisoners demonstrate the importance of micro-resistance in direct ways with the public. CagePrisoners urge those affected by the expansion of risk-based policy to come directly to them to seek justice together, as well as share individual every-day experiences of these policies on a specially created website 'www.schedule7stories.com'. They explain that this was done so that Muslims themselves could understand that these policies were not just based on racism, but part of a much bigger problem of governance, thus recognizing the importance of engaging with the macro-level debate.
Reprieve has aimed to expose the sheer expansion of War on Terror policy such as the rendition network through the invasion of public space. For example, through teaming up with cosmetics company, LUSH, and lingerie designer, Agent Provocateur, images of Binyam Mohammad and Sami al Haj appeared in LUSH High Street windows, bath bombs and even on the runway through underwear that stated 'fair trial, my arse' (Reprieve, 2008). The use of humor in conjunction with this micro-level contact had a powerful impact that made the name 'Binyam Mohammad' shorthand for U.K. complicity in rendition and torture.
The importance of humanizing the nature of risk-based policies at the micro-level and not just applying political pressure at the state and transnational level is caught up in the significance CagePrisoners gives to the role of 'misunderstanding'. If individual assumptions are not targeted – whether they be about misunderstanding the driver of policy or misunderstanding the indefinability of terrorism – people will carry on being normalized into thinking that to gain security, you have to keep on giving up freedoms.
Conclusion: How the case of HRO resistance in the UK pulls together the threads of risk and power
By analyzing the role of human rights organization (HRO) resistance to the technologies deployed by the DPR mode of governance in what Foucault calls 'the battle for truth', it is thus possible to see how risk dynamics are ultimately intertwined with power. Focusing on this site of resistance can see how Selchow's four dynamics are central to the constant negotiation of the dynamics of power that circulate the 'regime of truth' regarding the governance of the UK through the DPR.
Secondly, the example of the work of CagePrisoners and their encouragement of the micro-resistance of the Muslim 'suspect community' to supplement the macro-resistance carried out at state-level by HROs crucially reveals that it is not enough to simply focus on macro-, policy-level resistance whether globally, or against the state. This is due to what CagePrisoners deems 'misunderstanding' at both the micro- and macro-levels. The creation of the Muslim 'terrorist' is a central technology deployed by the DPR through the four rationalities that drive it. In essence, the case of the UK suggests that the perpetuation of a discourse of 'misunderstanding' produces normalized ways of engaging with discourses that present the Muslim identity as 'risky'. In other words, due to the perpetuation of the innate 'bad' label given to the perceived 'archetypal religious Muslim', it is likely that society will submit to the dynamic of expansion that indicates further curtailments on 'their' rights. If it doesn't affect me - it's not my problem, right?
By looking at the combined social and political effects of risk dynamics and their ripple effect on relations of power, it can be seen that simply focusing on resistance to top-down frameworks that govern political power such as parliamentary mechanisms and lobbying, is no longer enough. The Foucauldian 'battle for truth' is not about absolute truths that are accepted, but about rules by which these truths are constructed and engaged with by society. The importance of going beyond legal frameworks and working at the level of everyday interaction is highlighted by the examples of CagePrisoners and Reprieve in their parallel activities that aim to affect micro-relations. Interestingly, both of these organizations emerged fully-fledged post-9/11, born out of the need to resist the rationalities and technologies deployed by the DPR.
In saying this, this blog series is not saying that state-level resistance is not important. As shown, different HROs take different roles regarding resistance within the DPR system of governance. Organizations like Liberty and Amnesty cannot fulfill the same role as an organization like CagePrisoners as they are not part of the 'suspect community'. By the same token, Reprieve equally cannot function the same way as CagePrisoners. However, when viewing successful negotiation of power within the DPR such as the joint HRO campaigns on pre-charge detention and UK complicity in torture, it is clear that there needs to be this division of labor. This enables HROs to target the multiple dimensions of the dynamics engendered by the DPR: global, legal, political, social; micro- and macro-.
This series has attempted to highlight the shifting and fluid nature of the circulations of power underlying risk-governance. Risk-logic can't be reduced to a technical tool used to govern terrorism. The dynamics that this sets in motion have fundamentally altered society-state relations in a profoundly social way. Risk-based security policy has resulted in a wholesale cultural shift that rests on fear and suspicion and doesn't ask why the problem of terrorism exists. Instead, it simply tries to pre-empt it from occurring through an expansionary process that is slowly destroying freedom of speech, movement and privacy. Ultimately, the question we should be asking ourselves when we ignore this practice is: 'is this worth it?'
Aditi Gupta graduated with an MSc in Global Politics (Civil Society) from the London School of Economics and Political Science in Autumn 2013. She has previously worked at Soul Rebel Films and Reprieve and has co-authored reports based on depth interviews conducted for the Indian development NGO, CHIRAG. Aditi has volunteered for refugee and homeless organizations in the UK and is developing a career in the human rights field. This is the last post in her five-part series on Crimcast which began in early January, 2014.
tags activism, human rights, international, justice, law, London, military, police, policy, politics, safety, security, social justice, terrorism, United Kingdom, violent crime
"It's Probably Nothing, But...": How Governments Make Us Responsible For Our Own Security
January 30, 2014 Nickie Phillips
Part 4 of 5 in a series on Risk-Logic and the War on Terror
Aditi Gupta, Guest Blogger
Following on from last week's post, this week I'll be discussing Selchow's third dynamic that is engendered by the Dispositif of Precautionary Risk (DPR), a pre-emptory risk –based mode of governance: the internalization of security issues and the process of 'responsibilization'. As touched upon last week, the creation of an archetypal Muslim terrorist figure in the U.K. has essentially depoliticized the issue of the governance of terrorism for the majority of the population, while the blame for the root of terrorism has been placed firmly on Islamic extremism and the British Muslim community by association. Thus, it's evident that the dynamics of depoliticization and responsibilization are intimately linked. Through the governmentality approach, the DPR mode of governance shows that its assemblages of surveillance and risk discourse both work to construct sectors of society that are 'dreamt up, marginalized and put under suspicion'; and 'normalize' the rest of the population, thereby 'inviting citizens to become security guards, spies and informants' on the 'risky' Muslim community (Mythen and Walklate 2006:390-392). This means that the Muslim community is not only blamed for the problem of terrorism, but are ultimately pressured to provide the solution to the problem by looking inwardly at themselves; effectively, the Muslim community has to internalize the problem of national security in this way, taking it on their own shoulders while simultaneously easing the responsibility of the government to engage fully with the problem.
Those who do not fall under the 'suspect community' are responsibilitized in a way that not only allows the continued allocation of blame on the 'suspect community', but also places the onus on them to report on anything 'abnormal'. This dynamic is most clearly seen in government campaigns such as the recent one by the Metropolitan Police emphasizing that it is the Londoners' responsibility 'to be vigilant' for anything 'out of place in normal day to day lives'.
Mythen et. al. (2012:394) thus articulate the core of this politics of normalcy: 'this requirement to present an outwardly safe identity…reveals the coercive social pressures that a pervasive climate of suspicion has engendered'. Indeed, this has led to 'checking behaviors' such as selective use of dialect, clothing and curbing of outward behavior in the public sphere (p. 391). As the 7/7 bombers were 'home-grown' from the Muslim community in Yorkshire, the onus of protecting society has fallen hardest on the Muslim communities in the U.K. The consequences of this element of responsibilization via the allocation of blame has led to the targeted surveillance of Muslim communities through stop and search policies, questioning at ports under Schedule 7 of the Terrorist Act, pre-emptory raids, and the pressure to spy on their own communities through the creation of Muslim Community Units through the PREVENT strategy. Notably, even though these pre-emptory actions are based entirely on suspicion of intent, the person who is targeted has barely any rights in place to protect them from the effects of human error in judging their 'riskiness'. A corollary to this is the 600% increase in Islamophobia since 2001 and its associated increase in violence on Muslim people and mosques (Spalek, 2008:420).
The dynamic of responsibilization can be seen as directly related to the discourses of power surrounding the 'battle for truth' regarding justice. Amnesty International United Kingdom (AIUK) iterates that this dynamic makes HRO work safeguarding human rights standards all the more significant: 'the stuff that is most unpopular is some of the most important…because it's the issues that others won't pick up on…that don't have public support'. As Liberty (2007:16) articulate, it is unlikely that the majority of Britons 'upon waking up…felt more subject to surveillance than they did yesterday'; however, targeted surveillance over the Muslim community means that they truly feel the interlinked dynamics in Burchell's (1991) sense of having to change the way they see themselves as governed subjects, due to the way they are governed. CagePrisoners explains, 'the way the government speaks, the way the media speaks and the way the average person on the street speaks all perpetuate this cycle of fear', thus responsibilitizing society wholesale through the DPR's rationalities of zero-risk and shifting of the burden of proof.
However, from CagePrisoners' personalized responses in interview, we can see that governance through the DPR and the social dynamics it engenders has a much sharper effect on the 'suspect community' of Muslims. CagePrisoners explains that this suspicion has a chilling effect on the politics of the community as a whole: 'if we stick our heads above the parapet, they're going to come after us next'. It is thus evident that CagePrisoners feels the four interrelated dynamics engendered by DPR in a way that cuts right to the social core of what the application of risk does to society. As CagePrisoners says, 'wherever you see a threat coming from a community which goes against the norm of understanding of criminal behavior, you will see a disproportionate response to those threats'. CagePrisoners' responses emphasize that the key role of the organization is to empower the Muslim community to break away from inactivity and submission to the prevailing rationalities of zero-risk and the shift of the burden of proof.
Due to its unique vantage-point as a Muslim organization, CagePrisoners engages in this 'battle for truth' on a level that has a much more personal tone than any of the other human rights organizations (HROs) interviewed. For example, in a CagePrisoners article (Balaratnam, 2012) regarding United Kingdom BorderAgency (UKBA) policy of detaining people at the border for questioning under Schedule 7, the article speaks directly to a Muslim audience and is presented as a Muslim voice. Although not articulated in the terminology of risk, the article essentially asks Muslims to break through the dynamic of responsibilization whereby the allocation of blame on the Muslim community is legitimized through the reflexive internalization of blame. The article asserts it point by provocatively asserting that if the reader is stopped at the border, they have to concede 'it's my fault I got stopped today – my fault for being brown'. The form of resistance encouraged by CagePrisoners, therefore, is one that is very different to collective action. It is essentially micro-resistance whereby the individual only resists what affects them on an individual, direct level. Thus, if the affected community itself does not even question the rationalities that legitimize racially-prejudiced forms of profiling and surveillance, CagePrisoners warns that no one will, therefore undermining any lobbying conducted by HROs at the state-level.
This insight is even more powerful when one considers the recent uproar over the detention of David Miranda under Schedule 7 – only when one of the majority non-Muslim population was affected did the media question it, let alone campaign against it. Ultimately, it was only picked up by the media because Schedule 7 affected a Guardian journalist's partner (Greenwald, 2013). This relation epitomizes the importance of the 'micro' level of resistance in countering what is essentially a cultural shift to living through risk, when faced with the multitude of arguments that focus on the global erosion of rights and the need for macro-analyses of power.
Whilst Liberty, AIUK and Reprieve revealed their primary state-level focus by identifying the depoliticization dynamics of secrecy and the narrative of fear as the greatest obstacles to checking government overreach, CagePrisoners stated 'misunderstanding and blind ignorance'. For them, the social impact of society not understanding the Muslim community, 'what they're about and their belief system' is a major factor in the way government policy is formed. His responses suggest that the government construction of a 'paradigm of who we are and the way that we engage' has completely neglected the crucial importance of micro power dynamics. In a reflection of the multitudinal networks of Foucauldian power relations, Asim Qureshi, Executive Director of Cageprisoners, outlines that 'our identity is not just an identity; it's a multitude of identities that superimpose themselves one on top of the other'. It may seem logical and practical for the UK government to ask the Muslim community to report on 'bad' Muslims through policies such as PREVENT; however, the top-down engagement with only the archetypal 'good' Muslim that has been created in the political imagination effectively renders the policy counter-productive and end up pushing away the majority of Muslims who feel they do not fit that rigid definition. CagePrisoners gave the example of Muslims being targeted by the government for simply disagreeing with government policies such as going to war with Iraq. At a recent lecture, CagePrisoners' founder, Moazzam Begg, spoke of a teenage girl arrested for writing poetry that was seen as 'extremist'. In their view, the government-led counter-terror policy is 'dictated by people who are not willing to engage in a way that is useful', thus simultaneously legitimizing more and more extreme measures against ordinary people in order to secure the state, while creating resentment and isolation among communities who would be willing to engage on their own terms.
This insight cuts to the social core of the combined dynamics of risk engendered by the DPR; ultimately, as asserted by CagePrisoners, this 'criminalization of people based on an assumption of what you think they are' takes away Muslim agency. It says, 'you're not capable of making up your own mind…you're not capable of engaging with society…and so we're going to put you all in the same tub and treat you all in the same way'. This is why the policy shift from targeting violent actions to 'extremist' thoughts dictated by UK counter-terror policy worries CagePrisoners so much; it is inherently disenfranchising and disempowering.
Indeed, this micro-level understanding of power dynamics in the context of risk-governance and the need to resist them is also demonstrated by Reprieve in a way that connects the global, macro-level power dynamics inherent in the War on Terror; apart from the macro-issues of the rendition program and Guantánamo, they acknowledge that it is 'Life After Guantánamo' (LAG) that poses a big social problem (Reprieve, 2009). Their LAG program thus attempts to overcome the social and psychological difficulties experienced by ex-detainees that result from absorbing all four dynamics of risk via pre-emptory policies and the way that society treats them when they are finally released.
The U.K. government's perpetuation of what CagePrisoners calls a discourse of 'misunderstanding' ultimately produces a Muslim identity that is inherently perceived as 'risky'. Not only does this dynamic force the Muslim community as a whole to feel responsible for the devastation created by terrorist attacks they had no connection with, the government's attempts to use this community as an intelligence source ends up actually isolating them further. The rest of society, meanwhile, sinks further into a cycle of constant vigilance and suspicion: is the neighbor with the blinds constantly down up to no good? The perpetuation of 'good' and 'bad' and 'suspicious' and 'normal' labels within UK security practice mean that it is likely that majority society will accept – even crave – extension of security measures and further curtailments on the rights of socially constructed 'bad people'. The state of constant readiness for the next attack that is physically taken on by the U.K. population thus leads to the dynamic I will be focusing on next week: the expansion of 'securitization'.
Aditi Gupta graduated with an MSc in Global Politics (Civil Society) from the London School of Economics and Political Science in Autumn 2013. She has previously worked at Soul Rebel Films and Reprieve and has co-authored reports based on depth interviews conducted for the Indian development NGO, CHIRAG. Aditi has volunteered for refugee and homeless organizations in the UK and is developing a career in the human rights field. This is the fourth installment in her five-part series on Crimcast which began on January 3, 2014.
tags activism, human rights, incarceration, international, justice, law, London, policing, politics, protest, punishment, racism, scholarship, security, terrorism, United Kingdom, violent crime
A Christmas Carol at the Merchant's House Museum
December 19, 2013 Nickie Phillips
Demetra M. Pappas, JD, MSc, PhD, Crimcast correspondent
In a time of economic inequality, the plight of the Cratchit family seems particularly poignant in New York City.
For some, the holiday season is about parties; for others, it is about the seasonal performances. Given that I would not have made a clever criminal, I will admit to having been known to enjoy both. That said, this particular year, I have been performance focused, since my new knee, only two months old after total knee replacement, has not been deemed suitable for partying. (Actually, I quipped to a friend that my knee was probably suited to such occasions, but I had the sort of concern about brushes with others walking while drinking that I usually reserve to New Year's Eve drivers-- no judgment, just a healthy fear of testing the fall-abilities of the "knew knee," I say self-deprecatingly.)
A unique opportunity presents at the Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (between Bowery and Lafayette), 212-777-1089, in association with Summoners Ensemble Theatre. John Kevin Jones offers a tour de force one man performance of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The Director's Note, by Dr. Rhonda Dodd, explains that Jones was in the midst of developing a five actor version of the Dickens work during 2011, when he decided to try this version, motivated by Occupy Wall Street and its offshoots (about which I have previously written about for Crimcast). So it was that Jones took what Dickens did in 1843 and sought to create an abbreviated version of the play that would match Dickens' comment on social and economic inequality.
Jones succeeds in this effort tremendously. First, he physically inhabits each character as he represents them, going from full ghostly wingspan to (pun admittedly intended) tiny Tiny Tim. He voices Scrooge's trembling fear, joyous rediscovery of life, and likewise gives full voice and physicality to Dickens' female characters, as well.
Second, the play itself is designed for one hour, with 15-minute segments that a lawyer dealing with billable hours would appreciate (roughly Spirit One/Christmas Past, Spirit Two/Christmas Present, Spirit Three/Christmas Future, with background and conclusion getting equal shares of the remaining quarter). Several lawyers in the audience commented on this as I (also a lawyer) chimed in as to how remarkable it was.
Third, the selection of the Merchant's House Museum as the location is quite simply inspired. All that the edifice needed (and now has) was a bit of holiday décor (PS on the ground floor, there is a case of vintage stockings and the like, not to be missed on the way in or out). It is a lovely museum and the front and back rooms provide a perfect setting opportunity (in which folding chairs, which Jones quips are "vintage golden chairs," as he introduces the performance), are set among the furniture and space of hardware merchant Seabury Treadwell, who purchased the building in 1835, just one year after Dickens authored A Christmas Carol.
An additional – and terrific – feature is that Jones himself mingles and chats with audience members as they are leaving the museum. He told several of us that according to legend (and perhaps even fact), during the writing of the original version (and Jones adapted this version from Dickens' original touring version, while reintroducing a scene from the original novella), Dickens would wander the streets of London weeping over piece as he planned and re-edited it. This humanizing authorial angst, combined with activism on behalf of the laboring poor, especially children (which he saw first hand, after his family lost its money and debtors prison resulted for his father, mother and youngest siblings), makes the plight of the Cratchit family even more accessible.
Jones has chiseled and set a jewel of a play at a jewel of a museum.
Crimcast correspondent Demetra Pappas was named the 2012 SGA Faculty Member of the Year at St. Francis College, for her work in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. Her recent book, Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America: The Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide Debate (Greenwood Press, 2012) is a 100-year study of US and UK doctors prosecuted for medical euthanasia/assisted suicide and role of media) and was recently nominated for the 2014 International Qualitative Inquiry Book Prize and was nominated and short listed for the British Society of Criminology 2013 Criminology Book Prize. In addition to her work on end-of-life issues, she writes about anti-stalking mechanisms, pedagogical methodology, visual sociology and pens work on travel (including what has become known as CSI Demetra travel pieces), theater and the arts, dining and culinary books, and historical/cultural sights.
tags England, events, history, inequality, justice, London, New York, poverty, social justice, Theater
The Continuing Lore of Jack the Ripper
Dozens of curious onlookers crowd London streets each night to experience the saga of the infamous Whitechapel Murders. Crimcast was among the throngs this September to capture the essence of living in treacherous Whitechapel in the late 1880s.
Though the Whitechapel Murders occurred over 100 years ago, speculation continues as to the identity of the so-called Jack the Ripper, believed to have brutally mutilated and murdered at least five women in the area from 1888-1891. As such, extensive archival research continues to be poured over by both trained and self-proclaimed experts in Victorian history, criminal profiling, and psychology.
The five victims were prostitutes at the time of the murders, but a 2009 genealogy revealed that three of the five were previously married and later had turned to prostitution to survive.
Whitechapel was considered one of the most destitute areas of London, and the horrendous murder of Mary Kelly, believed to be the last victim of Jack the Ripper, occurred on Dorset Street. Dorset was known as the worst street in London, where poverty, alcoholism, and prostitution were endemic.
In 1998, psychologists, historians, and the police gathered at the International Investigative Psychology Conference at Liverpool University to debate the authenticity of the archival "Diary of James Maybrick" in which Maybrick allegedly revealed himself to be the killer. According to the BBC News, there was no consensus that the diary was authentic, nor however, was there consensus that the diary was fraudulent. The first edition of the book The Diary of Jack the Ripper: The Discovery, The Investigation, The Debate by author Shirley Harrison contains a facsimile of the diary and documents the controversy surrounding its discovery. Harrison continues to assert that the document is authentic, and an updated edition of the book, with a Foreword by Professor David Cantor, Director of the Institute of Investigative Psychology and Forensic Behavioural Science at the University of Liverpool, was published in 2010.
"The only conclusion they did reach was that the document was written by someone with a 'disturbed mind' and it was therefore 'fascinating', even if it was not genuine." -- UK Ripper Diary has Historians Stumped,BBC News
Maybrick, though, is only one of about 100 potential suspects. In 2006, a composite of Jack the Ripper was created, along with a profile of the suspect leading investigators to conclude
"that police at the time were probably searching for the wrong kind of man."
One of the more intriguing possibilities is that Jack the Ripper was actually Jill the Ripper. One such speculation surrounds the notion of a "mad midwife" who, as a woman, would have walked the streets without suspicion and would have been an "anatomically educated murderer." Interestingly, though the killer's signature involved removing organs, the most consistently removed organ across the victims was the uterus. Although some removed organs were laid alongside the body, the uterus was typically missing.
Because of the hysteria surrounding the murders, many people in Ripper's time, and some present-day Ripperologists, believe Ripper continued to kill in the few years after the generally agreed upon five murders. This climate of fear and these later Ripper murders--or copycat murders-- is the subject of the popular BBC television series Ripper Street.
Jack the Ripper still fascinates the public despite the unfortunate fact that more prolific and more gruesome serial killers have since followed him. But as the iconic killer who first captured the imagination of the English-speaking world, the case provides important insight as to the cultural origins of our continual fascination with the murderous macabre.
This is the fourth in a 5-part series appearing throughout 2013 focusing on the often intriguing discoveries that come out of archival work in the realm of criminology and criminal justice.
tags history, justice, London, United Kingdom, violent crime
Urban Utopia in Southwark, London: The Lake or The Shard?
Wandering around South Bank London on a damp evening, Crimcast stumbled upon a compelling sight-- a small lake constructed out of timber in the middle of an urban scape. Nestled next to a stone archway for commuter trains to and from Waterloo station, "The Lake" featured lounge chairs, a cafe, and playground. A sign indicated that this was an urban oasis, built by architects, carpenters, and other artistic visionaries to bring the notion of being on holiday directly to the people. Had we arrived just a couple days earlier we would have seen the many community members enjoying some late summer sun and floating homemade model sailboats. The privately owned land has been donated to a collective called EXYZT whose manifesto calls for utopian imaginings and community experimentation.As such, the gates are open for all comers who may wish to relax, enjoy a tea, or take on a project in one of the many work spaces underneath the railway arches. We particularly liked a piece in the gallery space created by a local artist featuring a baby stroller resting on a treadmill on cardboard.
Architect Nicolas Henninger explained that the members of the collective, who have spaces throughout Europe, live on-site and bring their brand of enthusiasm for building social capital to local people. "We had families here throughout the summer who made small boats and enjoyed themselves. It's temporary installation so we will have something new next year."
Whether the The Lake, or previous years' projects featuring gardens and faux Lido seasides, the zeitgeist is one of anti-commodification and collectivism through art and design. Playing and building together forms a key part of the collective's modus operandi. A game of "Anti-Monopoly" was ready to go in the tea shop.
A passing bicyclist who stopped to explore along with us couldn't help but notice The Lake stood in poetic contrast to The Shard looming above it-- a brand-new sky-scraper, purportedly the tallest in the European Union. It houses a hotel, residences and offices. Talk quickly turned to the hundreds of millions of pounds it cost and that one can buy a small space there for a mere £8 million. The bicyclist was concerned that The Shard would create problematic traffic flows for the area and that once inside the complex it would isolate people from interaction with the existing Southwark community around it.
Although Southwark has come a long way from its Dickensian roots, the borough's revitalization is happening in two distinct ways represented by The Lake and The Shard. One envisions social capital the other panders to global capital. One empowers locals to work and play together in a low-key, creative space; the other is a silver cage for the cosmopolitan elite, rising above the neighborhood and barely grounded in it.
tags activism, architecture, art, community, London, United Kingdom
Graphic Justice Symposium 2013, London
June 24, 2013 Nickie Phillips
Graphic Justice: a one-day symposium on the intersection of comics and graphic fiction with the concerns of law and justice, to be held at St Mary's University College, London on 11 September 2013.
With Anglophone comics, Francophone bandes dessinées, and Japanese manga, graphic fiction represents an expanding dimension of today's global popular culture and is a richly innovative form of expression.
From the overt law and order focus of many mainstream superhero narratives and comics-inspired blockbuster movies, to the more nuanced examinations of the human condition in less mainstream graphic works; from copyright to the freedom of expression; from the blurring of text and image in the very medium itself to representations of law, justice, and legal systems on the surface of its pages: comics and graphic fiction are rife with themes relevant to law and justice.
Comics have been receiving an increased level of academic attention in recent years, with dedicated journals and conferences springing up around the world. Yet the significance of comics with respect to the concerns of law and justice has received little critical attention. As a development of existing disciplinary fields such as law and popular culture, law and literature, and legal aesthetics, graphic justice is a research alliance aimed at increasing engagement with this under-explored disciplinary crossover.
categories Academic Resources, Center for Crime & Popular Culture, Comic Book Crime, Events, Home
tags comics, conferences, justice, London, scholarship, social justice, United Kingdom
Graphic Justice Symposium September 2013
The draft program for the Graphic Justice Symposium can be found here.
The symposium will be held September 11, 2013 at St Mary's University College in London.
For more information, contact Thom Giddens at thomas.giddens@smuc.ac.uk
tags comics, law, London, media, United Kingdom


text:
POM. Thomas, could you tell me something about your background, where you were born and raised, went to school?
TS. I was born in Ladysmith in 1943, in March. I stayed in Ladysmith for about five years, then I came to Durban, where I lived in a place called Springfield. It's a nice Indian area next to Newlands East. That is where I started my schooling up till standard six. From there I went to Thornfield Road. At the time the school was called Lawrence Secondary School, where I did my standard seven up to standard ten. Then I started working because I came out of a very poor family. When I worked for the first company, which was Beacon Sweets, in Mobeni in Merebank, there I was earning £2/9s/3d a week. I only had one pair of trousers and two shirts. I used to wash my trousers after work at home for the next day. From that £2/9s/3d, I lived and started learning to drive. I wanted to be a driver. I carried on until I got my driver's licence in 1963, and then I got my job at Rustic Timbers in 1964 at a better salary which meant I could look after myself better and my family.
POM. Were you still living at home all this time?
TS. All the time I was still living at home, until I got married, I was still living with my family, we were eighteen in a four roomed house. Then I decided, seeing that I was the eldest and that I had my own family now, that I had to find my own house. It was difficult for me, although I had applied to the government, the South African government ran the townships in those years. I tried to find accommodation for myself. I made several applications which were unsuccessful, until I managed to get this place which is called Lindelani, where I am living now. Then I started erecting my house. It was my first time to build a house with my wife. We were sleeping in a car, I had a car at that time, it was a BMW. For three months we were living in the vehicle trying to put up the start that I had. There were very few people in the area, at that time it was just bush. So, we managed to complete the house and we lived there. At the time I was living with my wife only, my children were still living with my mother-in-law. I built the house back in the year 1985, when I was elected by the people to be the leader.
POM. When was the first time you got involved in politics?
TS. In 1985.
POM. What made you get involved at that time?
TS. I liked Dr Buthelezi, and I read papers, newspapers, hearing about him. I felt that he is a leader that you can trust. Until then I was not involved in politics, but in 1985 I joined politics, I joined the IFP. I became a member of the Central Committee in 1987, through the IFP, and I recruited many members for the IFP in my area. From that time I was recognised as a very strong leader although other political parties or organisations did not like me. It was at the time in 1989, when the UDF still existed, in 1988 or 1989, that I was called a warlord.
POM. What is meant by a warlord?
TS. I don't know, I did not know all along, until there came the time when I heard about Somalia and Saddam Hussein. I believe that those were the people whose leaders were like boxers.
. Just because I did not join those organisations who wanted me and my people, the people I am leading, that is why I am being called a warlord. If I had joined the ANC for instance I would not have been called a warlord, their people haven't really been called warlords. They are not being called warlords, they are being called allies because they befriend the ANC.
POM. Remember, you were telling me at one time what had happened to your parents? What did they do. Can we talk a little about that?
TS. Yes, it was one night, I don't remember the date, I have got it in my diary at home, where they attacked my parents' place.
POM. Where they looking for you?
TS. I can say they were looking for me. They attacked the house, they locked the front door, the burglar bars, they locked the back and they poured petrol, the house was in flames. My father was badly burnt and my mother also, she was very brave to get the family out, one by one because they were all fast asleep. She managed to pull everyone out except a two year old child that was left.
POM. Was that your daughter?
TS. That was my sister's child.
POM. What impact did it have on your family as a whole?
TS. I can say my family is very brave my parents are brave, everyone. It did have an impact, especially my father. We were all in God's care. We buried the child, the funeral was over, it took us about six months. The mother of the child, my sister, she could not take too much, it killed her. I think she was too worried about her child.
POM. What is your view of people killing? You attended the National Peace Accord resolution. Have you been accused by the people of the ANC then of being a warlord?
TS. No, I remember I saw the first draft, my name was nowhere listed as a warlord. Eric Gwala of the ANC was listed as a warlord and Ntombela who lives in Maritzburg and another one was Peter Magagula who was listed as a warlord. And I don't remember who else was listed.
. Even the ANC won't call me a warlord because after being involved in this case, I do a lot of work where sometimes things are very difficult; for instance in Vryheid I handled the peace there. I brought the IFP and the ANC together where it was terrible; the ANC failed to bring them together and some of the IFP members failed to bring those people together. I made it and the ANC gave me their blessing for attending those meetings with their people. But they never attended, I mean the leadership, when I went to speak. They were speaking to me, it was the United Nations, Commonwealth, OAU, the police and the churches - people who were representing the churches, but God worked because they came together.
POM. There is more violence in Natal this year than in any other year, the violence is increasing.
TS. I think the judiciary is on the rocks. There were places that we had (violence) which is called Themba, a name of an area in Inanda. This area in Inanda is called Themba, that was the worst place. If I can call it that it was terrible. But we managed for the past two weeks to keep peace, we are talking to each other, and we have not had violence the whole of last week. We had only one single incident where one boy from another group went and stabbed another one the other side. Both were taken together to the police, although one fled on the way. But as it is now, it is very quiet and peaceful. The churches also contributed by taking a prayer and we have also gone as far as having a joint meeting at a place called Wemaphuta. There are also lots of people present with Bheki Khumalo who is on the Regional Dispute Committee of the Judiciary Committee. It was me and him and Peter � of the ANC, we managed to bring the people together. Although there is still violence here and there, you can see that those are clearly the criminals.
POM. If the IFP does not return to the negotiating table, do you think they will participate in elections next year?
TS. Well, it is two different things. If we are talking about the elections we must know which elections we are talking about. Because if you are talking about the Constitutional Assembly that is not elections. To go and elect a body that will write a constitution that is not what we want. We want elections. If we have elections next week, we will have a constitution written fair. Then we know what we are going to vote for. We can stand for elections even next year.
POM. The election next 27th April for a Constituent Assembly to write a constitution?
TS. We are against that.
POM. You will not do that
TS. No we don't like it. I will personally advise my people not to do it. We want a fair election like in other countries where we must write a constitution first then we can go for elections. Because if I say to you I hold my hand closed like this, and say, "All right, you go first," then I will tell you what is inside here then it is not fair. Then I say if you want to know what is inside here let me open it up for you. That is not what we want. I believe many people in South Africa will stand for elections if it is a fair election. The constitution must be there for South Africa. South Africans must be aware of the constitution. Their input must also be included, all the parties or organisations, everybody must be involved. The conference that is taking place at the World Trade Centre now does not represent everyone. There are many, many, many parties and organisations that are not represented at that conference.
POM. And are you hopeful that the IFP will be back at the World Trade Centre, or do you think it will not hand the position of the ANC, in particular the government, that there will be an election of the Constituent Assembly is on their side fixed but on your side, your unwillingness to participate in such an election for a Constituent Assembly also you have shown that you are not going to compromise at this point in time, on either side.
TS. I see no compromise, because if we say we don't want this thing we don't want it. We want fair elections that's all.
POM. There is no compromise if these elections go ahead next year?
TS. They can go ahead if they like with the elections if we were not part and parcel of the talks and whatever outcome comes, the whole elections they go ahead for us that is not enough. They will be doing their own thing. It has nothing to do with KwaZulu Natal.
POM. You say KwaZulu Natal because it has become autonomous from the South African government?
TS. I cannot predict at the moment what will happen but I am sure that even in South Africa, that in KwaZulu Natal there are those people also who will not take part in a debate or who will not, who do not agree with this Constituent Assembly. Even those people, I believe, there will be a problem the way I see it if they go it alone.
POM. Do you see any kind of intensification of the war that would come about between the IFP and the ANC here or in the last ten years?
TS. Well, in the elections that I heard of, or in the towns that I have been to, if the ANC wants to, and the government don't want to listen to other people, I see a civil war.
POM. A civil war?
TS. Yes, I am merely saying that we can see that there will be a civil war. It does not mean that we are calling for one. For instance, if I see it is cloudy outside and I say to you, I think it is going to rain, it does not mean that I am the one who is going to make it rain. Yes, but it is what I forecast.
POM. What are you saying? Are you saying that if the government and the ANC do not meet your demands - ?
TS. Not only my demands, the people of South Africa's demands. We are prepared to negotiate our demands, we have the right. The people are calling for a referendum. The people of South Africa, no matter how big their parties or their organisations, whoever is in South Africa at this time must have a word. They must say what they want in the new South Africa. Not to be just pushed aside as if only the ANC can say the words and the people must listen to the ANC and the government. Each and every one in South Africa must be happy with the constitution, how it will look, what are we going vote for, and things like that.
POM. There are many people, actually political commentators, who are saying that the only reason why the IFP does not want elections next year for a Constituent Assembly, is because nationally it would probably get less than 10% of the vote and only have a marginal influence on the development of the constitution.
TS. That is a joke. Let's make this point clear. We have never said that we don't want the elections. We say let us write the constitution first then they can have elections, we are not saying that there must be no elections, that we do not want elections.
POM. I am not saying that you do not want elections. What I am saying is that you want the constitution put in place first.
TS. Yes, that is right.
POM. You want the constitution put in place before the elections. Because you know that if there were an election for the Constituent Assembly, you might nationally get only 10% of the vote and that would not be very much of an influence in a debate within the Constituent Assembly if a constitution was then drawn up by the Constituent Assembly, so you are trying to safeguard your own interests.
TS. Oh no, we are not only trying to safeguard our interests, we are trying to safeguard the interests of the people of South Africa. Everybody must know what is going to take place, what and when to vote for, what the country will look like, that is why we are demanding a constitution. We are not worried who will win the elections because our place is there in the document. If the ANC can win we would be in the planning because it will be the multi party government who are in power, even if the National Party wins. But with other speakers there, in the parliament, we are not worried about that. But we must know what is the future of our children. Our children are not the people who will be voting. Not that somebody you vote for goes and writes the constitution and they have all the powers, they can write anything and we will never say anything after that. Because those people who are calling for the Constituent Assembly, they want to grab power. That is the one way that they can gain power.
POM. Are you saying that they want to write the constitution, gain power and then they will be the first and the last government and there will never be any successive governments?
TS. You will never take them out. I know that is why they want that, they want to stay in power one way, and then they start grabbing people's land, you must pay tax and this and that. Because they are communists you must never trust them. People of South Africa, black, white, Indian, coloured all must have a constitution that is fair, then you know exactly what you are going to vote for. That is what we are saying, what type of a government we will have. We must have a referendum. After writing the constitution we must get the feelings of the people. If everybody says it's OK then it's OK.
POM. Yesterday we had a meeting with the King, and he talked about what was going on as being a threat to the Zulu nation.
TS. Definitely.
POM. Is that a big factor? Do people like to think that they are not just a member of the IFP but actually of the Zulus?
TS. Yes, even those who are not involved in politics, we listen to foreign programmes, we listen to the news, we read the papers. We have people in South Africa to comment on the radio phone-in programmes, this and that. They have that fear, many people see clearly what is happening that the Zulus are being undermined. People are trying to bury the Zulus. There must be no Zulus, they must just take over Zululand. We have KwaZulu Natal, we have our kingdom, people cannot just take that easily.
POM. Who are these people?
TS. I can say the ANC and the National Party. That is why they are working very closely together and my feeling is that I wonder what did they find on this record of understanding? Are we actually exposing the record that was signed together to the world and the people of South Africa or the point that they agreed on before working together like they are working together now? And many people are so happy so see the government and the ANC working together because they have been enemies and they did not want to talk to each other. We appreciate that they can have bilateral talks, they can go to hotels together, sleep in one bed, do what ever they want to do, we are not worried about that. That is very good, because they both did not believe in talks. The ANC has believed in an armed struggle and the National Party were saying they would never talk to the terrorists, now they are talking to each other. But they mustn't take bilateral decisions without the people of South Africa being involved no matter from which party or political organisation, they must consult with the people of South Africa.
POM. Now last year this time when we talked to you, there were stayaways going on and the three day strike or whatever, the government and the ANC were very much polarised, and the government had a much closer relationship with the IFP and with Dr Buthelezi than that of the ANC. What would happen if those roles were to be turned around, what would happen if you were to turn the whole thing around?
TS. I cannot say that it is a very creative relationship. We, on the IFP side, we talk to anybody. It is not that we are friends so much with the government, we are the government. We are the government in that way although we are still under them we don't have to serve on their union, but we are calling. There are things that the government is doing that we don't like and we have made it clear that we don't like it. Must we take, I mean, bilateral talks, we have bilateral talks with the ANC? I don't take violence in my honour even if we do not want this. The other voices must also be heard.
. You see, the government, they are only listening to the ANC. Believe me they are intimidated a lot by the other side. The reason that they are now just listening to what the ANC is saying they are not worried about other South African citizens.
POM. Last August, Roelf Meyer had a meeting with the National Party in Durban and planned a series of proposals which are being aimed at trying to entice you back into the fold. They said that the Zulu people were looking for the right to self-determination and that he believed that blacks be met under structures which would involve federalism and that the constitution be at the central level of government for a particular area, for instance KwaZulu Natal. Would that go some of the way towards meeting your concerns or there being a full constitution drawn up before any elections, period?
TS. Is that what you are calling it? You want a full constitution only from the election and not written by our own constitution for KwaZulu Natal which we were contributing. We are not saying that people must accept that. For instance the ANC, they have a Harare Declaration, they can bring that thing forward, the PAC can bring what they see how we can run the country for that matter, whichever party can bring their constitution forward on what they think the country must look like, but most of the things that we feel is this is how we should run the country.
POM. There is a meeting today between Mr de Klerk and Dr Buthelezi.
TS. Yes, today.
POM. Would you be surprised if something comes out of these talks? Would you be surprised if just at the end of it that Dr Buthelezi would say that we have reached an agreement?
TS. No I would not be surprised because I trust him. He is my leader and he knows what the people want, if he has reached an agreement with the State President on what the people want I won't be surprised you know, I will just say, "Thank God." At least something has been agreed upon or something like that, a solution must be found.
POM. Would you be surprised then if he says that we will take part in an election process for a Constituent Assembly?
TS. Then I will be surprised if he says that because we as his followers, it is not him who is saying that he doesn't like a Constituent Assembly although he also says that he took it from our conference, from our people. The people of our country, from our party, are saying that they want fair elections and a fair constitution. I will be surprised that if all of a sudden he says that.
POM. Let me ask you another question. Let's say that the ANC and the government agreed with the IFP and that it was OK to draw up a full constitution and then have elections for a parliamentary body. Do you think that people like Harry Gwala and the ANC, in particular in the Midlands here, would accept the decision of the national leadership, or would they say they are simply not going to roll over and accept this outcome?
TS. First of all I must start by saying it is not only the IFP that is calling for a constitution first and then an election. I heard that if the ANC agrees then the government would agree that writing a constitution should be first, then an election. It is not only the IFP that is calling for that, I think the people are calling for that even other countries like the Ciskei, they are calling for that and the other people, even the people of South Africa they are calling for that. The majority of them I think are calling for that. If the ANC is determined and agrees that we write a constitution first and then go for elections if the referendum shows that a majority says that is how we should go about it. Then coming to your second question, Harry Gwala as the main man in the Midlands, we are having problems even on the Peace Accord, I mean the National Peace Secretariat where we are still working with that region which is the Midlands. Even my colleagues in the ANC that we are working with, they are having problems with the Natal Midlands. Even I myself, representing the IFP on these peace structures, am having problems with the Natal Midlands because the leadership in Natal do not want to, they want to motivate and then tomorrow they don't want to. We are busy working on our side, we have had an invitation from the IFP to involve the ANC here in the southern region because the southern region is important. And the leadership of the southern region even on the peace structure must stand up and seize the Natal Midlands. That was the report made last week by our leadership from the Natal Midlands. So I believe if Harry Gwala, I don't know how they work out, I have never seen their constitution, I don't know if it has the respect of the leaders because I once heard Mr Mandela where he wanted to talk to Dr Buthelezi, he said he would like to talk with Dr Buthelezi but his followers will throttle him. I wondered if his word is final or maybe the leadership said it is final to their organisation. If Harry Gwala, if their leadership's word is final, and Harry Gwala does not abide on their instructions or their constitution, then I don't know what actions they can take. But if he does respect his leadership on the higher position, then even if he does not like listening to what decision the ANC on the higher level has taken.
POM. What impact do you think the assassination of Chris Hani has had on the whole peace process? Has it accelerated it?
TS. It had an immediate impact for a few months, but now people have realised that we have lost one man. Whether we loved him as our fellow comrade in our party or organisations, but through him, I mean that millions of people or thousands of people did die. I think that people have changed their attitudes now. For the first few months it was terrible. But now people have realised that if more people die we will recover if less people die, he will never wake up. He has gone away. It has cleared that pain in their hearts like anybody. I know that he had a family to look after. If I die my children will love me. I know that my children loved me. If I die I know that my wife loved me. There are people who loved me and it will always be a sorrow if I die just like Chris Hani. I don't think that the people who killed him did a very good thing by killing. I think the best thing is to change the man's attitude. If you can see today people like the PLO, Arafat, people changing like that in Israel meeting members like Arafat. Nobody ever thought that a man like Arafat could change. I believe that it is best to change a man's attitude, not to kill him.
POM. How about the fact that up until March this year the average number of killings per day was four? Since March to September the number has risen to ten. Do you regard yourself here as being in what would be called a civil war?
TS. Oh yes, sorry, I don't want to cut you short. I hear people saying that sometimes you know our leaders like Dr Buthelezi warning about a civil war and that is at the expense of democracy. I can see, if you count the number of people who are dying now, to me that is war. That is why it has got to stop, to make these peace structures work, they must be effective. So it is wrong, because there are many people dying as you have been counting numbers.
POM. And if the IFP stays outside during this entire negotiating process and do not participate in elections, that war, will it intensify?
TS. Not only the IFP, other parties too. It is a government thing. It is above my feeling. But as I quoted to you, if I see clouds it is going to rain, it does not mean that I am going to make it rain. It is God that will make it rain, that is how I view it. If some people are left out of negotiations or elections that might cause violence to spread in the country but I cannot run away from that. We are in this thing or we are not.
POM. Like in Inanda now, people are protected by security systems, can anybody just walk in there? Can the ANC just walk in there tonight and start shooting people and burning people?
TS. At Inanda? Well I cannot just say it is the ANC. But always what we notice is that people are always calling it the IFP and the ANC. Yes it is true in some areas that it is both parties or organisations fighting, but in other areas you will find that there are some people who are also just criminals that will steer violence. So people must carry on fighting, burn houses then while people are running away they go for the TV's and that kind of stuff. And as such, unemployment also contributes to it. There are many people who are not employed.
POM. Is anybody in control of the judiciary? Is the ANC in control of those comrades on the ground? What are the things that they are talking about? Can we use that as an excuse, and similarly is the IFP and Dr Buthelezi in control again?
TS. The only problem that I experience with them working in this non violent area, the leadership, the ANC does not have control of these young children as comrades. If they can control them the violence can stop. But some of them, they don't listen to their leaders, they just go on their own and do their thing. I do not blame them, they are children most of them. So if you keep a child in, there is the fear that the child can start killing now because the child is enjoying it. If I give the child a firearm the child becomes a criminal. So I think in some or other areas you find that they do have control of those children. They stop them. But mostly, their children do go wild and they can't stop them.
. And there are those who are using those children to commit these crimes and commit these acts of violence. If funds can be stopped and physically pumped into certain parties or organisations or organs like the human rights lawyers or Diakonia, this is a top creation. Most people do not like to see violence stopping because they will lose their jobs. You know that. But these funds that come in directly to these people, sometimes they worry me but if it could come into one trust and be looked after, maybe to the black government, and does things that will restore the people, that could help.
POM. Do you think that more UN observers would help?
TS. No I do not think so because I have been working with them now for quite some time. The expectations that I suppose they have, I don't see it. I still believe that the only people who can stop violence are the people of South Africa. If you look at what is happening in Somalia, in Mogadishu, around that time and around that area which is the place where the Muslims were fighting, if you look at Bosnia how many people were dying in their presence and are still dying there? The people of South Africa, some of them, don't have any trust or hope that they can do anything to stop the violence. Because you know what happens, even in their presence at places, people are getting killed. How then will they stop the violence here and what is different from them and those who are working in those areas?
POM. Do you see this country slipping more towards a Bosnia-like situation?
TS. If our leaders at the top and the government and all the parties and organisations involved negotiate properly, not to say we are negotiating now but I want everything for myself, I want my part, if they open their hearts and put God in their hearts, treat each other as human beings and brothers and South African citizens, negotiate a proper thing, have no hidden agendas, then I think that we can go ahead. Think of other people, what is good for our children and the future of our children, then it will be all right.
POM. If you think back to the stage that we were at this time last year when we talked to you and where we are today, do you think the political violence situation is better or worse?
TS. I can say in some areas it is getting better, but getting better especially in the southern regions, because we don't get people ambushing vehicles now like in the open corral where we are losing many people but now the situation is better in some areas. In Umlazi there are still some people getting killed but it is not like before. For instance in Vryheid it is very rare that you hear about people getting killed. So to me it is encouraging really if the leaders can really commit themselves to peace. I mean the government can work their hardest to control the arms, the illegal arms that are hidden in our country, they can really be concerned about that and the arms that come into our country, but I believe that they are not doing enough.
POM. The government?
TS. Yes the government, they have the security and the police. I don't think they are doing enough.
POM. Have you found the police co-operative or are they kind of siding with the ANC?
TS. I think the police are doing their work, some of them are going towards the ANC, some of them, they are also human beings, some of them are going towards the IFP, some towards the PAC, some towards the National Party, but the attitude of most of them now that we are having this communal relationship is that we are using them to talk to people, they are trying to seal their relationship. But the main thing is to stop the violence, whether they are going towards the ANC or going towards the IFP or whoever it is, that doesn't concern me so much because I believe that one day when there is voting in this country they will vote, definitely they won't say that because I am a policeman I won't vote, they will definitely vote for organisations because it is their right.
POM. The situation in Natal, the Zulus, like it is today, would you have the April elections carried out or would you rather wait until negotiations reach a higher level?
TS. If you look at some statements that have been made by some of the ANC leaders who told people that on the election day uMkhonto we Sizwe will be sending their members to each and every ballot area to see that we have a fair election. I don't think that it will be a fair election if uMkhonto we Sizwe sends their people fully armed. So that would not be a fair election. I hope, I am praying for that, that people must not be intimidated because we are still experiencing a new thing as blacks, we are still learning to vote, it is a great opportunity to be given by God after so many years, let it be a fair election, we don't want to see something like what is happening in Angola. That is what I am saying.
POM. You as a Zulu, as a member of the IFP, and many of the members of the ANC say that the war that is going on between the IFP and the ANC, it is Zulu against Zulu. Why can't the King play a more effective role by saying to both sides that you are destroying the Zulu nation?
TS. Let me first comment on the dispute that it is Zulu against Zulu. The main thing that we are worrying about when they are fighting is not their groups whether they are Xhosa, Zulu or whatever, although in some areas, mostly in KwaZulu Natal it is people who are saying my head is ANC or my head is IFP, they are not worried whether you are Zulu, Xhosa or white, they are talking about Natal. When you ask why the King doesn't get involved because the Zulus are killing Zulus, I dispute that it is Zulu fighting against Zulu here in Natal. The King doesn't get involved in politics, he has made several calls saying that people, no matter what race you are, stop the bloodshed. That is what he is calling for, he has also said that forget about what party you belong to or organisation, but Zulus must come together as they are his children. He cannot be mediator to both of them, he wants them to follow the correct procedures of inviting him. But if the two leaders get together and speak to people at the grassroots, and the people say no, we want the King to come and address us now, both of them would have to come up with that.
. I am confident that it is going to happen although there are some people who are saying that Mr Mandela and Dr Buthelezi mustn't go to the rallies, but the rallies that � is going to as a member of uMkhonto we Sizwe. I never ever thought that I would sit with him, but we cry together, we talk together, we trust each other, because the first thing we must do is to bring trust. As I am sitting here I don't know how many times, he is the one who is calling me, he is wanting me to phone him. At so many of the rallies we have attended, people were holding hands, singing, being Christians together. It is in our hearts now, that is how we must be, through trust.
. The rest of this tape is unintelligible.
. END

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


One thing I've noticed when working with models is that there's photographers who literally never direct or tell the model how to pose - and this can be frustrating for models. If you're a photographer and have been guilty of doing so, this is the session for you - we take an hour together, in my studio, and we get to work and practice your craft all the while making some gorgeous work for your portfolio, shooting with an experienced model (your choice of female or male)! Once booked, we will set a date and time to create and body talk - aka learn to direct a model and get the image you want!


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What Caused the Death of Stephen Bonner?
Posted by By Rubal December 29, 2022
How Stephen Bonner Perished
How Much Money Does Stephan Bonnar Have?
An Overview of Stephan Bonnar's Profession
An American MMA fighter by the name of Stephan Patrick Bonnar. For most of his time in the UFC, Bonnar fought in the Light Heavyweight division. Bonnar finished second on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, and his loss to Forrest Griffin in the TUF Ultimate Finale is widely regarded as one of the most pivotal bouts in promotion history.
According to a press release issued by the UFC on Saturday, Bonnar died of "presumed heart issues while at work."
UFC President Dana White said, "Stephan Bonnar was one of the most important fighters to ever compete in the Octagon.
The UFC family is saddened by the passing of UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar. We send our sincerest condolences to his family and friends.
— UFC (@ufc) December 24, 2022
Also: Here Is Clarence Gilyard's Cause of Death!
He said, "His bout with Forrest Griffin revolutionized the sport forever, and he will never be forgotten." "His followers adored him because they could identify with him and count on him to deliver his finest performance every time. We mourn his passing."
UFC fighter Stephan Bonnar, an American mixed martial artist, is worth $500,000. After placing second in the first season of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter, Stephan Bonnar became a household name.
Bonnar has an 80-inch reach, weighs 205 pounds, and is 6 feet, 4 inches tall. Bonnar is well-versed in multiple fighting styles, including MMA, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has fought 22 times in mixed martial arts and won 15 of them. Anderson Silva faces Stephan Bonnar in UFC 153 on October 13 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Also: Marilyn Chambers Cause of Death: How she died?
Stephan had a good start to his career, so much so that he was chosen as one of eight Light Heavyweight competitors for The Ultimate Fighter 1. Finals loser to Forrest Griffin.
After losing to Griffin, Stephan continued to compete in the UFC and went on to win against Sam Hoger, James Irvin, and Keith Jardine. Two times he was defeated by Rashad Evans and once by Griffin.
Following the conclusion that he had used the banned anabolic steroid Boldenone at UFC 62, he was handed a nine-month suspension and a $5,000 fine. The return to the UFC in July 2007 to face Mike Nichols at UFC 73 marked his 11th career victory. UFC 77 was his next victory, over Eric Schafer.
He retired for two years, then returned in 2009 for UFC 94 against Jon Jones, who he ultimately lost to.
His original plan called for him to lose twice more, including once to Krzysztof Soszynski, but when the two fought again that year, Stephan won through technical knockout, earning Fight of the Night and a substantial financial bump. After beating Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 139 and Igor Pokrajac on the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 12, he improved his professional MMA record to 15-0.
Stephen declared his retirement from MMA after suffering his eighth career defeat in his final UFC battle against Anderson Silva. After the fight, he was also found to have a positive result for Drostanolone, another prohibited steroid. A former retiree, he returned to action in 2014 after signing with the MMA promotion Bellator. When he fought Tito Ortiz, he lost by a split decision.
Stephan has lately become a member of the independent wrestling group House of Glory. Recently, he made his wrestling debut and triumphed over NPJW wrestler Sho Tanaka. Stephan plans to keep wrestling professionally despite his advanced age.
For his contributions to the sport of mixed martial arts, Stephan was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2013. Stephan's source of income comes not just from his career as a fighter, but also from his work as an MMA analyst for Fox and ESPN2, among others.
Rubal December 29, 2022
Eddie Vedder's Wife Jill Vedder: Who Is She?
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Is Candace Parker Lesbian? Her Sexuality May Shock You!
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Sheryl Crow Has Three Engagements but Was Never Wed


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Q: Convert byte to BitmapImage uwp c# I try to convert a white bitmapImage to black. So i have a byte[] PixelArray, which is good but when i try to use this array to create my black image it doesn't work. Here is my code :
var stream = new InMemoryRandomAccessStream();
await stream.WriteAsync(byteArray.AsBuffer());
stream.Seek(0);
await image.SetSourceAsync(stream);

Thanks guys

A: As @Clemens said, we should be able to use WriteableBitmap. We can get the Width and the Height by BitmapDecoder.PixelWidth and BitmapDecoder.PixelHeight property. Then we can use WriteableBitmap.PixelBuffer to set the bytes Array to the WriteableBitmap.

PixelBuffer cannot be written to directly, however, you can use language-specific techniques to access the buffer and change its contents.
  To access the pixel content from C# or Microsoft Visual Basic, you can use the AsStream extension method to access the underlying buffer as a stream.

For more info, see Remarks of the WriteableBitmap.PixelBuffer.
For example:
IRandomAccessStream random = await RandomAccessStreamReference.CreateFromUri(ImageWhite.UriSource).OpenReadAsync();
BitmapDecoder decoder = await BitmapDecoder.CreateAsync(random);
PixelDataProvider pixelData = await decoder.GetPixelDataAsync();
var PixelArray = pixelData.DetachPixelData();
WriteableBitmap bitmap = new WriteableBitmap((int)decoder.PixelWidth, (int)decoder.PixelHeight);
await bitmap.PixelBuffer.AsStream().WriteAsync(PixelArray, 0, PixelArray.Length);
MyImage.Source = bitmap;

Update:
To Convert the WriteableBitmap to BitmapImage, we should be able to encode the stream from WriteableBitmap.
For example:
InMemoryRandomAccessStream inMemoryRandomAccessStream = new InMemoryRandomAccessStream();
BitmapEncoder encoder = await BitmapEncoder.CreateAsync(BitmapEncoder.JpegEncoderId, inMemoryRandomAccessStream);
Stream pixelStream = bitmap.PixelBuffer.AsStream();
byte[] pixels = new byte[pixelStream.Length];
await pixelStream.ReadAsync(pixels, 0, pixels.Length);
encoder.SetPixelData(BitmapPixelFormat.Bgra8, BitmapAlphaMode.Ignore, (uint)bitmap.PixelWidth, (uint)bitmap.PixelHeight, 96.0, 96.0, pixels);
await encoder.FlushAsync();
BitmapImage bitmapImage = new BitmapImage();
bitmapImage.SetSource(inMemoryRandomAccessStream);
MyImage.Source = bitmapImage;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The FDA regulates products responsible for about 25 percent of the gross national product of the United States and the industries responsible for these products. The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products, medical devices, the nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, and products that give off radiation.
To obtain additional information regarding how our firm can help your business navigate the complex regulatory maze pertaining FDA laws and compliance, please contact our firm to arrange a consultation.


text:
Sevem Dağdelen
HomeAuthorsSevem Dağdelen
Sevim Dağdelen has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2005. She is the spokeswoman for the Left Party parliamentary group on the Bundestag's committee on foreign affairs, a deputy member of the defense committee, and spokeswoman for international policy and disarmament. From 2017 to 2020, she served on the executive committee of the Left Party parliamentary group as vice-chair. Dağdelen is a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and a deputy member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. She has also been campaigning for years for the release of journalist and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is being held in Belmarsh high security prison in the UK.
LATEST ARTICLES BY Sevem Dağdelen
German tanks to fight Russians? A historic mistake
January 25, 2023 By Sevem Dağdelen
German tanks sent into Ukraine to fight Russians will only increase the danger of catastrophe by leading to further escalation.


Arial, must have ben a bored cop or a rookie looking to make stats to impress his sarge. We had a big push in Virginia a few years back over window tint, including buying expensive tintmeters..anymore no one cares, and half the cops have blackout tint on their own rides.
Stay safe, ride with the pack!!!
liked it, never care for anything else thereafter."
Who is making good round driving lights these days? Like 3-4" diameter that is under $150 a pair?


Discussion in 'macOS Sierra (10.12)' started by MacAlien, Aug 15, 2016.
So, my SO decided he'd be smart and install macOS Sierra on his MB over El Capitan. Decided he doesn't want it after all and has tasked me with trying to downgrade him to El Capitan. He made no backup so this is daunting. I made a 2nd partition on his computer to try a workaround but kinda stuck there to install El Capitan on new partition via the internet recover while starting up but, that partition doesn't show up under startup discs... Now what?
Guess I could move his files to new partition and try doing the recovery on main partition? I dunno. I'm out of ideas.
A simple google of 'downgrade from Sierra to El Capitan' will give you two things.
1. OS X / MacOS is not downgradable.
2. A large amount of guides how you can re install El Capitan on a new partition and remove the Sierra partition. This for example.
If he made no backup and you've not made a backup before you embarked on your attempt, prepare yourself for dataloss. You might be able to boot back into the Sierra install and pull them off onto a USB or something. This might be useful.
The safest way would be to clone the Sierra partition onto an external drive and then perform the El Capitan install on the main disk.
Run the two commands below in Terminal then post the output of each command here for us to take a look at your partition layout. Also, tell us (from that output) what is on each partition. Then we can walk you through what to do next.


And the result was an offer of Mountain revelry called 'Incognito'. A Photo exhibition attempt to exhibit the moods and the grandeur of the unknown or less known Himalayan Mountains by Shri M. Madan Gopal at the Chitrakala Parishad, Bengaluru, India, on 26th august 2011.
Himalayas, 'the abode of Snow', who does not know them!
From time immemorial, the Himalayas have given out speechless invitations to Sages, Anchorites, Yogis, Artists, Philosophers, et al. They have touched every soul and elevated them by just a glimpse of the snow capped peaks. In the Bhagavad Gita, Tenth course, Lord Krishna says, " ...Of the immovable things I am the mighty Himalayas".
The Trans Himalayas (Tibetan Himalayas well known as the 'Roof of the World' with an average altitude of 4,000 - 4,590 meters).
These ranges amongst them has ten top highest peaks in the world and over a couple of hundred peaks above 6,000 meters!
Photography has been one modern day invention which has regaled with the magnificent monument of Nature - The Himalayas.The photographs capturing the scenic beauty of the most frequented mountains like Mt.Everest, K2, Kanchenjunga, Annapurna is common. A total of 79,900 visitors were recorded in the year 2009 around Annapurna conservation area! But this exhibition had an exception.The Incognito is a tribute to the sidelined splendors whose beauty and calling have not been seen or heard. The artist has paralleled these grand silent mountains to the unsung, unheard noble souls and warriors who have served the humanity selflessly. Incognito means without being known, without revealing one's identity, not to let others to know who they really are.These peaks speak to one's heart and leave unerasable impressions.


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We also offer specialized products for small-run custom packaging and labelling for fund-raising programs or wholesale customers and don't forget our beautiful made-to-order gift baskets.
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We have gourmet chocolate at wholesale prices ! Our regular inventory also includes close-out prices on the major brand names of chocolate bars and larger family-size bags of chocolate favorites.
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