Nordwave Great Britain

‘Cry God for England, Harry and St George!’ Those immortal words are from Shakespeare’s Henry V but who was St George and how did he become patron saint of England? St George was a Roman solider who lived in the 3rd century AD. At the end of the century the Emperor Diocletian persecuted Christians and St George was martyred in 303 AD.

The cult of St George was brought to England from the Middle East by the crusaders. (St George was popular with the crusaders because he was a soldier). He is supposed to have appeared to them at Antioch in 1098.

Like most visitors to London, Klaus Matzka and his teenage son Loris took several photographs of some of the city’s sights, including the famous red double-decker buses. More unusually perhaps, they also took pictures of the Vauxhall bus station, which Matzka regards as “modern sculpture”.

But the tourists have said they had to return home to Vienna without their holiday pictures after two policemen forced them to delete the photographs from their cameras in the name of preventing terrorism.

Matzka, a 69-year-old retired television cameraman with a taste for modern architecture, was told that photographing anything to do with transport was “strictly forbidden”. The policemen also recorded the pair’s details, including passport numbers and hotel addresses.

In a letter in today’s Guardian, Matzka wrote: “I understand the need for some sensitivity in an era of terrorism, but isn’t it naive to think terrorism can be prevented by terrorising tourists?”

The Metropolitan police said it was investigating the allegations.

In a telephone interview from his home in Vienna, Matzka said: “I’ve never had these experiences anywhere, never in the world, not even in Communist countries.”

He described his horror as he and his 15-year-old son were forced to delete all transport-related pictures on their cameras, including images of Vauxhall underground station.

“Google Street View is allowed to show any details of our cities on the world wide web,” he said. “But a father and his son are not allowed to take pictures of famous London landmarks.”

He said he would not return to London again after the incident, which took place last week in central Walthamstow, in north-east London. He said he and his son liked to travel to the unfashionable suburbs.

“We typically crisscross cities from the end of railway terminals, we like to go to places not visited by other tourists. You get to know a city by going to places like this, not central squares. Buckingham Palace is also necessary, but you need to go elsewhere to get to know the city,” he said.

He said the “nasty incident” had “killed interest in any further trips to the city”.

Jenny Jones, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority and a Green party member of the London assembly, said she would raise the incident with the Met chief, Sir Paul Stephenson, as part of discussions on the policing of the G20 protests.

“This is another example of the police completely overreaching the anti-terrorism powers,” she said. “They are using it in a totally inappropriate way.

“I will be raising it with the commissioner. I have already written to him about the police taking away cameras and stopping people taking photographs and made the point that if it was not for people taking photos, we would not know about the death of Ian Tomlinson or the woman who was hit by a police officer.”

A spokeswoman for Metropolitan police said: “It is not the police’s intention to prevent tourists from taking photographs and we are looking to the allegations made.” The force said it had no knowledge of any ban on photographing public transport in the capital.

• This article was amended on Saturday 18 April 2009. The Matzka family’s surname was spelt incorrectly in the article above. This has been corrected.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/16/police-delete-tourist-photos

By Jonathan Moore

Plans to introduce ID cards came a step closer today after the government announced it had awarded contracts for the technologies required to process applications and store the data.

The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) will replace and upgrade its current systems for both enhanced passports and the controversial ID card scheme in deals worth £650 million.

The contracts form part of the wider system which uses facial and fingerprint recognition technology and will cost the taxpayer more than £4.8billion over the next ten years.

“These contracts bring ID cards and more secure British passports a step closer,” said home secretary Jacqui Smith.

“These improvements will further help protect our borders.”

Foreign nationals are already being issued with ID cards and airside staff at Manchester and London City airports will be issued with cards from the autumn as part of an 18 month evaluation period.

However, as reported by politics.co.uk despite continued investment in the technology required to process and store the information, UK security forces still lack the capability to read data stored on cards.

National co-ordinator of NO2ID Phil Booth said this was further proof of the “billion pound bonanza” for companies involved in the ID cards scheme.

He described the move as a “blatant piece of Home Office empire building”, adding that in the current financial situation such excessive public spending “flies in the face of both common sense and political reality”.

“Issuing complicated mega-contracts in an attempt to tie future governments to their ID ambitions is a bit of a last gasp effort,” he said.

“Both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems have pledged to scrap the scheme, and the excuse that ‘this would all need to be done anyway’ has worn so thin you can see holes right through it.”

James Hall, IPS chief executive, said: “The British passport is already one of the most secure in the world and it is vital we maintain that strength by moving with the rest of the international community.

“That is why as we replace expiring contracts we are introducing fingerprint and facial biometric technology to the passport.

“At the same time we are upgrading our application process to improve the service our customers receive. Both contracts will also help deliver the ID cards programme.”

The contract to upgrade the IPS’s application and enrolment system was awarded to CSC while the technology required to store the information will be provided by IBM.

CSC won the contract from a group of 50 prospective bidders back in September 2007 which were reduced to a shortlist of five before hundreds of face-to-face meetings to determine the final choice.

Mr Hall said: “IBM and CSC have shown they are superbly placed to deliver these large projects and we are delighted they are working with us.”

The Scottish National party (SNP) described the government’s commitment to the plans as “absurd”.

SNP home affairs spokesperson Pete Wishart said: “Labour’s abysmal record on data protection is reason enough to abandon ID cards but it is even more absurd pushing ahead with this costly project given the dire state of the UK government’s finances.”

ID cards will be available to volunteers from later this year before the government begins issuing them to young people in 2010.

Sir David Attenborough has warned British couples to limit the number of children they have to help quell the ‘frightening’ growth in the world’s population.

The veteran broadcaster said the planet is under ‘mounting pressure’ from an ‘explosion in human numbers’.

Sir David, 82, said families in the UK need to control their number of offspring – a policy already adopted by China where parents are allowed just one child.

He said the environmental problems associated with an increasing population needed to be spelled out ‘loud and clear’ before it was too late.

Sir David’s warning comes as the world’s population is predicted to hit 9.1billion by 2050 – a 40 per cent increase from the current 6.8billion total.

The UK population currently stands at 61million.

Speaking on behalf of the Optimum Population Trust (OPT), a campaign group that lobbies for tougher immigration laws and sterilisation, Sir David said: ‘I’ve seen wildlife under mounting pressure and it’s not just from human economy or technology but behind every threat is the frightening explosion in human numbers.

‘I’ve never seen a problem that wouldn’t be easier to solve with fewer people. The same problem becomes harder, or ultimately impossible, when more people are involved.

‘I support the Optimum Population Trust and their policies and I just wish the environmental groups would follow their lead and spell out this central problem of too many people, loud and clear.’

The father-of-two has campaigned for a number of years with the group for stricter measures to reduce the population of the UK and the world.

A man who died during the G20 protest was pushed to the ground by a police officer, video footage has shown.

Ian Tomlinson, 47, collapsed from a heart attack during protests outside the Bank of England last Wednesday.

Newsagent Mr Tomlinson, who was not protesting, is seen receiving a two-handed push from a police officer.

A New York fund manager recorded the footage, saying he came forward with the video because Mr Tomlinson’s family “were not getting any answers”.

The pictures were shot at 1929 BST at Royal Exchange Passage. They are believed to be the last of Mr Tomlinson alive.

Initially, the pictures show Mr Tomlinson walking away from a group of police officers.

He lands heavily on the ground before remonstrating with police.

Daniel Sandford, BBC Home Affairs correspondent, said: “Campaigners have been saying all along that Mr Tomlinson’s heart attack may have, in some way, been linked to how the police were treating protesters that evening.

“This is now going to raise some more serious questions about the police behaviour on that night.

“Why is it that one of the officers walks up to a man who appears to be walking away from him?

“He [Mr Tomlinson] does not look like he is 100% co-operative but he is not being unco-operative.”

The Guardian newspaper obtained the footage and it plans to hand the video to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

An IPCC spokeswoman said: “The IPCC has been made aware of the footage broadcast on a national newspaper’s website.

“We are now attempting to recover this evidence. We will be assessing this along with the other statements and photographs that have already been submitted.”

Earlier, Mr Tomlinson’s family made an appeal for witnesses.

A statement from the family said: “Ian was a massive football fan and would have looked distinctive in his Millwall top.

“He was probably on his way back from work to watch the England match and got caught up in the crowds.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7988828.stm

7988812.stm

President Barack Obama is urging the European Union to accept Turkey as a member, saying it would be a positive sign to the Muslim world.

Obama spoke Sunday at a luncheon for leaders of the EU’s 27 nations in Prague. He said the West should seek greater cooperation and closer ties with Islamic nations. He said letting Turkey into the EU would be an important sign of those efforts.

France, Austria and other nations oppose Turkey’s long-running efforts to join the European Union. EU members have urged Turkey to do more to guarantee minority rights, curb powers of its military and pass new rights for trade unions.

Turkey’s population is mostly Muslim. Obama visits there Monday and Tuesday.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008988135_apobamaturkey.html?syndication=rss

A monument to Vladimir Lenin, the legendary leader of the Great October Revolution, has been exploded in St. Petersburg.

The monument to Lenin on the square in front of the Finnish Railway Station in St. Petersburg was seriously damaged as a result of explosion. The incident occurred on April 1 at about 4 a.m. A large hole can be seen on the back of the leader of international proletariat. The hole is about 80 centimeters in diameter. Eight of ten illumination lamps were damaged too.

The power of the bomb was equal to 300 grams of TNT, experts said. The police are now trying to identify the man who placed the explosive device on the backside of the monument.

http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/crimes/01-04-2009/107341-vladimir_lenin-0

After years in the planning after years of patience after years of support the Racial Volunteer Force is happy to announce the opening of the RVF’s first pub.
 
We have been working towards this day for a long time and at times it looked like it would remain a dream but after the investment by certain people who remain anonymous at their own request we had the money to buy a premise outright including being able to have it as a free house this way we would not be tied to a brewery in fact they are queuing up to supply us in what ever merchandise we want.
 
We also have a permanent dedicated staff who will make sure it runs smooth it will be a place where all white people will be welcome apart from the reds and other white scum. There will be our music on the juke box screwdriver, brutal attack, Whitelaw, razors edge, none of this black crap.
 
It will be the only place in this country that will go back to the good old days of the colour bar and the non white will definitely NOT be welcome. Due to security we are unable just yet able to reveal its exact location but its enough to say the Glasgow area will be a very happy place for the right wing.
 
In the pics you will see the bar just after it opened this weekend (21st March) with Mark (the landlord) Atkinson helping serve pints along with other pics from the first very busy day. This is the first in a line of pubs that we are looking at who knows the next one maybe near you!

http://www.rvfonline.com/articlefiles2/rvfpub.htm

Protesters smashed windows at the RBS building and clambered inside.
Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt said he had seen police CCTV pictures of the demonstrators removing equipment and starting a small fire.
Police on foot backed up by a line of mounted officers lined up outside the branch as smoke bombs were thrown by a baying crowd.
Earlier, a protester hit an officer with a large pole during large-scale protests ahead of the G20 summit of world leaders.
Anger at bankers’ role in the global economic downturn and frustration at slow progress in tackling climate change prompted thousands to take to the streets in the capital.
Four protest marches converged on the Bank of England after setting off along separate routes as helicopters circled overhead.
City workers leaned out of windows and waved £10 notes at demonstrators on the streets below, who responded with jeers and shouts.
A group of officers was forced to retreat behind metal crowd barriers outside the Bank, apparently because of the crush of the crowd in front of them.
Missiles – including fruit – were thrown towards police as red smoke rose above the crowd.
One protester, who was bleeding from a wound to his head, was seen shouting at police officers who had formed a line in front of them.
Another demonstrator dressed in black then ran forward and hit an officer with a pole.
Sky News Online’s Alex Watts, at the scene, said police cordoned off the area where the attack took place.
He said some 50 officers ran in and made arrests.
Scuffles also broke out between police and demonstrators near the Corn Exchange.
Sky’s Ian Woods spoke to people who said they wanted to go home but were not being allowed to leave the area.
Protesters set up tents outside the European Climate Exchange for a camp aimed at demonstrating their dissatisfaction with the global approach to tackling climate change.
One of them told Sky News he and his friend had travelled from opposite ends of the country, and hoped to use “peaceful resistance” to stay there for 24 hours.
Another protester, Adam Lambert, 25, of Finsbury Park, north London, said: “I’m here with the Stop the War Coalition because we think the G20 are not representing the ordinary people in the world.
“We think they are representing the rich.
“Every day we hear of billions being given to bankers and billions are being spent on wars.
“We want to demonstrate today to say we are not going to put up with this and the G20 should represent us.
“I think people are angry and they want to show their anger.”
Many shops and businesses closed for the day, while those that remained open braced for violence.
Many City traders dressed down to avoid confrontation with demonstrators, swapping their suits for casual clothes.
Some were told to stay at home, others that they should bring lunch with them to the office.
Simon Denham, head of City finance firm Capital Spreads, told Online: “(It was) an extraordinary trip into work today – not a suit in sight as just about everyone who works in the City, or at least those who haven’t stayed at home, came in wearing just jeans and a shirt.”