Orf to the Land of the Dragon…

I leave at dawn for Brecon, Wales.  I like Wales – although I have not been for a few years.  A short trip.  I shall take my laptop and if the mobile wifi dongle works where I am going  I shall do a Postcard from the Valleys.  If not, I shall do it upon my return on Sunday.

Cogito ergo bibo…and Wimblebore Review….

Cogito ergo bibo… I think therefore I drink, seems to me to be a perfectly sensible rationale for one of my main vices…although I am much taken with Bibo ergo cogito.

It was doing this drinking hobby of mine last night when I started to think about Wimblebore… a tennis festival put on by the British… well English to be really fair…  for the benefit of overseas tennis players who can actually play the game.   Most years there is a collective gasp of pleasure (and much clapping)  from the middle classes when Britain’s last remaining player makes it to Day Two  and, during the  time of Tim Henteeth, there was much national hand wringing and angst as they coped with the inevitable defeat.  Henman Hill used to irritate me beyond the irrational… the Henman Hillbillies seemed to clap anything and did, when it rained and Sir Stiff Pilchard popped up to sing The Young Ones or Summer Holiday or whatever it was he did sing that famous rain and brain sodden day.

But now we have a Scot who seems to be pretty cool and does not seem to be that bothered by the ‘expectation’.  Famously, he said of some football tournament – another game I do not watch – that he would support whoever was playing against England.  This did not go down well with the blazer wearers of Wimbledon and Surrey.  If he makes the Final I shall watch.

I hear on my sound news feed  the inane interviews with the pundits and the only one worth listening to from my perspective as a non-tennis watcher is McEnroe.  He talks straight, seriously and sanely about a sport he clearly has a passion for.

I was reading the papers this morning and the sports writers seemed to be rather pre-occupied with the state of British tennis.  The Mirror writer suggested that we are no good at it because it is a middle class elitist sport and there is probably some truth in that.  Apart from the somewhat surreal sight of out of condition people, suddenly enthused by tennis for three days after Wimbledon, patting a ball back and forth across the net and wheezing, the tennis courts in public parks are often emptyfor the rest of the year and it is not really on the  sports radar of most schools, let alone state schools.

I saw a film on You Tube of the famous Wimbebore roof closing. The hyperventilation, the almost insane smiling and more of that clapping,  the grave commentary and then bizarre music, was almost too much for me.  I reached for my injection… but fortunately did not have to euthanase myself.  Here is the video

This morning BBC Breakfast decided to stop any pretence of being a serious news Channel in the early mornings. Bill Turnbull, who actually does have a good sense of humour, decided (to my eye) to crank up the dumbing down. Morons watch television after 9.00.  Adults wanting to catch up on news watch it before 9.00.  We do not need to have matters dumbed down.  I lost patience when the hyperventilating weather girl decided that she was Matron and issued a Weather Fatwa telling us to watch the heat…. meanwhile the  elderly are dying in satisfactory numbers… I could almost hear the autocutie newsreaders (male and female) reading.

It is remarkably simple. The sun in Britain at this time of year is visible.  It can be hot and even reach 30 degrees or high 90s farenheit.  The sun can burn skin – but if you want your distended beer belly and skin on your face to make you look like a cooked prawn go ahead, be my guest.  The heat also makes you thirsty so it is not a great leap in thinking to ensure that you drink water.  And finally… on this matter… if you lie in the sun until you faint then you may well get heat stroke, severe burns and waste a doctor’s time at your local hospital.

Oh.. and finally.. to exorcize Wimblebore from my system and psyche before The Ashes start next week – a word about the effing bloody ‘Wimblebore’ strawberry.  I saw a news item on this on BBC Breakfast News for Cretins.  They are grown under plastic.  They have to be a ‘Wimblebore type’ – this was not fully explained by the interviewer who was too busy hyperventilating and holding his or her knees together with the excitement. I remember eating one or two on my only trip to Wimblebore a few years ago.  I may have been better placed nutritionally and in terms of pleasure if I had eaten the grass from Henman Hill.   £2.25 for a miserable portion with or without cream… “having a  farkin  larf, guv… but the farkin geezers got to pay for their farking roof…don’t they?” …. as Dave, from the Cafe in Chelsea, would say…

PC Plod gets hot and brain falls out of the back of his head….

The Guardian reported this morning: Police floated imposter theory over Ian Tomlinson’s death at G20 protests

A senior police officer who investigated the death of Ian Tomlinson told his family that the officer who struck him at the G20 demonstrations could have been a member of the public “dressed in police uniform”, it emerged last night….

…The City of London police completely failed to persuade the Tomlinson family of its impartiality, not least when they were told by an investigating officer that he was not ruling out the possibility that the alleged assailant may be a member of the public dressed in police uniform,” it said. A source present at the 8 April meeting said the senior investigator’s comment was made after he was pressed on how the identity of the officer could be established from the video.The investigator agreed that the man who struck Tomlinson was likely to have been a police officer, but could “not rule out” the possibility that he was a member of the public.

This is a rather bizarre way to go about things….  fortunately independent investigation is being carried out… at least I hope it is.  Ironically… police officers are ‘members of the public dressed in police uniform’ – although some of them appear to think they are there to control us rather than protect.

House of Lords – the elephant in the room. Time to get shot of it?…

The news with a big update to law reports is up on Insite Law

PM warned that elevation of Michael Martin could damage Lords
Guardian: Michael Martin , the former Speaker of the Commons, was today elevated to the House of Lords despite a warning from the independent appointments commission that his presence could “diminish” the upper house. In an unprecedented move, the commission wrote to Gordon Brown to warn that Martin’s conduct in recent months, which led him to become the first Speaker of the modern era to be forced out, could damage the Lords’ reputation.

The article in The Guardian left a rather sour taste in my mouth as I rose very early to see the sunrise – cloudy. Michael Martin has been elevated to the Lords – a tradition going back some time.  The Guardian reports: “The intervention by the commission, chaired by the former Foreign Office permanent secretary Lord Jay, is understood to be the first time in modern times that questions have been raised about elevating a former Speaker to the Lords….

… In a carefully worded letter to the prime minister, the commission referred to the terms of its vetting procedures. These state that the commission’s role “is to advise the prime minister if it has any concerns about the propriety of a nominee”.

In plain English… the Lords don’t want any more unsuitable people turning up to add to the carnival atmosphere of recent years with Peers being suspended for corruption and a couple of ‘master criminals’ with jail experience (although one currently in jail) among their noble ranks.

The Guardian noted:  “ Martin was nominated for a peerage by the Commons as part of a “humble address” to the Queen. In a message to MPs on Monday the government whip, Helen Jones, in her role as the vice-chamberlain of the household, reported that the Queen had agreed to confer a peerage on Martin “for his eminent services during the period in which he has, with such distinguished ability and dignity, presided in the chair of this house”. The traditional form of words was greeted with ridicule. Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, a Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: “This is old-fashioned nonsense. Parliament should start using words that people understand and believe. Michael Martin should not be handed a P45 in an ermine envelope.”

Few  question the value of a second chamber, but the classic British fudge of half reform started by Blair has left us with an institution  still made up of unelected people, accountable to no-one,  with fairly extensive powers; powers which can be over ridden only by taking our ball back and  by invoking the Parliament Act. For my own part we should move to a position where we have an elected second chamber and remove the titles of Baron this and Baroness that and build a Parliament that reflects a mature and modern democratic country.

The whole business of titles is verging on the comic opera in the 21st Century. Orders of The British Empire and the like are ridiculous enough when Empire seems to be limited to a tedious lump of rock on the rump of Spain and a few islands dotted about the world. I have no problem at all in the State rewarding excellence – but surely it is not beyond us to call the awards something rather more meaningful?

The trouble is – people like all the flummery that goes with a title and this is harmless enough – but not when it comes to the government of our country. We are a democracy with a constitutional Monarch.  We are no longer a feudal society.  We are no longer a society where the robber barons of ye olde Englande rule in a gentleman’s club environment. An elected chamber (perhaps we could even call it a Senate?) would be a very valuable step forward in governance.  The trouble is, without the ermine, the titles and all the other nonsense that goes with it currently – would anyone want to be part of it?

In October the Law Lords become Supreme Court Justices.  It would be good, in time, if we could get rid of peerages and other titles denoting links with a feudal past from our judicial system as well.  What about Justice, Appeal Justice, Surpeme Court Justice?  They seem to describe the position more than adequately without the prefix Lord, Lady.  Mind you… why stop there? … let’s get rid of the whole shooting match and become a republic, enjoy our history and base our future on a classless society? The Americans  do it rather well – and they are celebrating Independence this very weekend on the 4th July. Anyone fancy that or as we say in the modern vernacular… Anyone ‘Up for it’?

They tell me that the Tower of London has space in it… I’d better keep my head down… but on reflection that is not really a good idea when talking about the Tower of London.  I’m orf for breakfast, some coffee and a bit of Smokedo.  I’ve been up since 3.30 and it is time for a walk.

30th June: News up on Insite Law

News up on Insite Law

Editor Mike SP Email

Editor pick of the day 30th June 2009 Commons clerk raises legal obstacle to Westminster ‘clean-up’ Bill Times: “The Government’s attempt to replace self-regulation of MPs’ financial affairs by a new independent regulator faces an unexpected challenge. Ministers hope to push the Parliamentary Standards Bill through the Commons in three days this week. But they face the challenge of an outspoken memorandum by Malcolm Jack, Clerk of the Commons. This questions ministerial claims about the Bill’s impact on parliamentary privilege: MPs’ long-disputed right to free speech without the threat of judicial action as enshrined in the Bill of Rights of 1689″. Yet another example of speed and not enough though.

Inner Temple / Middle Temple Library survey

Inner Temple has issued an online survey as part of their feasibility study into the possible merger of the two Inn libraries. You may express your thoughts on the possible plan to merge the two Inn Libraries: Click here for the Inner Temple Survey

Inner Temple Library news has the details of the latest position

To view the straw poll I conducted on the blog a month or so back -   View / vote on that poll.

College of Law podcasts – Inside Track

The College of Law has asked me to present a series of 10 Podcasts on current legal issues which while aimed at prospective members of the profession will be of interest to qualified lawyers and non-lawyers who are interested in law alike.  I’m delighted to work with The College on this project and quite apart from enjoying working with the College of Law multi-media team , I get to do it in a very snazzy radio studio over at their studio  in Bloomsbury and get to interview some interesting guests.

I’ll publish the guest list as soon as it is firmed up – but there are some fascinating people in our plans and  it will be a most enjoyable series for me to be involved with. We record the series in July and early August and they will go live on the College of Law website in September.  My style is exactly the same as my own podcasts.  The sound quality is, of course, better and they even have a signature tune for the series!

Listen to the first podcast with Des Hudson, Chief Executive of The Law Society talking with me about the opportunities and threats to the profession in relation to outsourcing in India, legal aid, Best Value Tendering and the shape of the profession under the Legal services Act coming in now with alternative business structures.  Des Hudson knows his stuff and this will be of interest to practitioners as well – of that I am confident.

Episode 1: Des Hudson, Chief Executive of The Law Society

Get a job as an MP and have lots of jobs…

Following on from DuckGate and MoatGate the newspapers are now running amok with tales of greedy MPs with multiple jobs; causing embarrassment to some, discomfort to others and general outrage from many.  Part-time MPs don’t give the attention to our affairs that the position merits.  I do understand that MPs may well be able to take on a bit of consultancy to up their income but when fees earned from outside interests are stratospheric people begin, inevitably, to question why an MP should be worth so much. Conflict of Interest?
***
The real issue is not so much the amount they get paid but how many hours they are devoting to their outside interests at the expense of the taxpayer.  If they are part-time, perhaps they should resign and let someone else who wants to work in parliament and represent constituents do it.

29th June: News etc up on Insite Law

29th June: News etc up on Insite Law

Rothschild and Freshfields founders linked to slavery

Rothschild and Freshfields founders linked to slavery
Two of the biggest names in the City of London had previously undisclosed links to slavery in the British colonies, documents seen by the Financial Times have revealed.

Financial Times: Nathan Mayer Rothschild, the banking family’s 19th-century patriarch, and James William Freshfield, founder of Freshfields, the top City law firm, benefited financially from slavery, records from the National Archives show, even though both have often been portrayed as opponents of slavery.

Beware of Greeks causing rifts… and other thoughts…

Beware of Greeks causing rifts

While the ethical standards of today should not be applied to the acquisitions and  ‘grabs’ of yesteryear,  the hardening of the Greek government line in demanding the return of the Elgin Marbles is likely to fall on deaf ears.  The Economist has an interesting take on this – inter museum loans between the museums of the world so that the greatest number of people can see the treasures of the world.  Britain is not alone in grabbing artefacts and treasures in times past.  The museums of Russia, Germany and elsewhere contain artefacts from other countries – the provenance of which is not known. Inter museum lending is unlikely to work if there is a concern  that the Greeks will simply seize the marbles should any ‘loan’ to the new museum in Athens be agreed.

World reaction to the sudden death of Michael Jackson has ranged from insane manic grief to contemptuous cynicism.  We must not forget, of course, the nutters and conspiracy theorists who are hinting (a) that he was killed by ‘dark forces’ (b) that he is not in fact dead but is flipping burgers with Elvis in some remote US town or, possibly in Whacko’s case, Area 51 (c) that he has been abducted by aliens, or in the alternative is in fact an alien and is simply returning home. The contemptuous cannot quite understand why the world is ‘mourning’  and it was only a matter of time after David Cameron paid ‘tribute’ that Gordon Brown would pop us to  say “The People’s Paedo’s death started in America.  It is a global problem…. zzzzzz”.  The Fat Bigot wonders why holding a microphone should cause such intense pain as to, yet again,  merit daily administration of pain killing medication.

Moving on… but I end with the idea I have seen on Twitter…. that if he was left in a cupboard for a while and then  returned to re-make Thriller, but this time as a Zombie… I’d watch that.

Legal Week Student

The Student section of Legal Week is developing into a useful resource for students with some practical, independent and useful content.  I’ve been doing the odd piece for Legal Week Village  – no money changes hands, unfortunately! – for some time and  now, with their Student Section, I am more than happy to contribute with relevant podcasts.  The good news is that Legal Week Student is now picking  up on other blogs -  although Alex Aldridge, who produces the student section, asks why it is that barristers and students tend to blog more than solicitors and ‘City go-getters’. Well.. that is not entirely true as there are many solicitor and academic bloggers out there as my Netvibes page of UK Law bloggers reveals.

I suppose, in a law blog, I should really try and shoehorn a bit of law in. So let’s kick off with a quick round up from a few blogs:  The Fat Bigot considers the matter of Lawyers and Lies.

In my last offering I relayed an anecdote from the dim and distant past, a snippet of my life as a barrister of moderate ability. It prompted a comment from one of the innumerable Messrs Mous. In a nutshell he alleged that lawyers lie for money. This is not just a matter of semantics, it is a matter of substance, so I want to explain why he is wrong.

It is an old chestnut for lawyers and trainees, but Fat Bigot does address concerns raised by those not trained in the law and its ways.

Twitter…..is the party over?

Binary Law asks: Has what looked like a great service, populated by eager early adopters with like motivations turned into a service polluted by egotists, marketeers and spam artists? Larry Bodine, questioning the value of Twitter as a marketing tool for lawyers, thinks so:

I’ve learned that it is a shouting post for relentless self-promoters, a dumping ground for press releases and advertising, a competition to amass followers, and a target for computer-automated Tweets.

To be frank, I am not remotely interested in what anyone thinks of Twitter.  For me, it is a social online chatroom.  I’ve met some amusing and interesting people, it keeps me out of bars (although I am often pissed late at night when I go go on to Twitter, it has to be said) and  I enjoy using it.  Even BabyBarista sees the advantages of Twitter! I shall not be highlighting any more articles – even if written by mates – about Twitter.  If you don’t want to read the shit from marketers… block ‘em.  I did like the fact that Habitat got hauled over the Twitter coals by Twitter users for effectively tweeting their catalogue:  This article discusses the issue!

The parody…

MICHAEL JACKSON DEAD.  Come and see our range of household goods at www.habitat.co.uk amused me

Pupillage… handle with Care…

Simon Myerson AQC has a thoughtful article and warning… “The rules for all Chambers – whether in OLPAS or not – are clear. No offers can be made before 930am on 30th July and every offer must stay open for 14 days. Chambers not complying with those rules are cheating.

Pink Tape writes “Sigh….So many things I wanted to blog about this weekend and so little time…”

Bar of Bust sees some advantages to being a barrister: Food glorious food…

Despite previous reservations voiced by some over the quality of food at Middle Temple, the dinner laid on for this years scholars was indeed glorious. Foie Gras, Sea Bass, a strawberry something for dessert, and a superb cheese board were accompanied by a rather splendid selection of wines and rounded off by coffee and a rather decent port.

Law Actually has an amusing post about dumbed down self help law books: “…It should come as no surprise, then, that there is a genuine ‘Law School for Dummies’ – pitched at US law school. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before a UK edition of an equivalent title rears its head?”

RollonFriday has an amusing news item: An email from the senior partner of a London law firm to the Law Society ranting about the promotion of homosexuality was leaked this week.

The partner emailed the Society after it issued a press release calling on lawyers to celebrate Gay Pride. He said that he had read the release “with horror”, and launched into an impressive rant about how disgraceful it was that so many organisations “seem to have been hijacked by the gays“.

He also claimed the Society has no mandate to promote diversity. “What on earth is going to happen next? Is someone at the Law Society going to tell all solicitors that they must promote to all their male heterosexual staff that they should trying becoming [sic] gay or bisexual or transvestites” he shrieked, hurling his handbag to the floor in disgust.

Courtesy of RollonFriday – you may read the entire rant here! Ludicrous.

Well… enough of Law for the moment… What is going on over  at The News of The World?  I can’t offer any judges and their rent boys this weekend as last…

Under the headline EXPLOSIVE JACKO FILES, the News of The Screws screams “Where’s Michael hidden his cash”? Apparently a nanny received a call from grieving relatives within hours… . Seemed perfectly sensible to me.  Whacko wasn’t going to need it… but there you are.

NOTW reveals that Katie Price Jordan is in crisis and Peter whatever his name is.. is a broken man… god help us…the things people get up to eh?  And Jade’s grieving hubby is being ‘comforted’ by a ’stunning’ brunette. Even more astonishingly NOTW reveals  under the headline ‘My big enders aren’t real says sexy Kara”.  “Soap star confesses she stuffs her bra with chicken fillets.  With chicken fillets? I think need an injection…. just remember that NOTW is one of the most widely read newspapers in the World, along with sister publication The Sun and those readers have a vote in the next general election… and may god, accordingly, have mercy on our souls. Democracy is all… a fine principle… in theory.

I end with this observation by ‘Sexy Kara’… “

The chicken fillets do like to escape. One flew out and hit the camera

27th June: Postcard from Armed Forces Day

I write from Chatham in Kent, home to the former Royal Naval Dockyard where HMS Victory was built and many other famous warships.  There is a lot of history on the Medway with Chatham, Rochester and Upnor providing much of interest.

Today, Chatham is hosting Armed Forces Day – a celebration to honour those who serve our country in war.   I overlook one of the old dockyard basins as I write and this was the view I saw as I smoked my cigarettes and did my Smokedo exercises this very morning…

HMS Argyll, a Type 23 ‘Duke’ Class Frigate is moored about 300 yards from my balcony.  I got up early, walked round to take a closer look and had a chat with a couple of officers and one of the armed guards who was manning the gangway.  Visitors are allowed on board.  As with most people, while we may not agree with our government’s decision to go to war in Iraq and, possibly, Afghanistan (The two issues are separate),  I support our armed forces and it was a pleasure to see one of our warships up close and wave as the ship came in yesterday evening.

There are various marches planned, but I shall be out on the balcony later this afternoon watching the Red Arrows display and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight fly past.  Two Eurofighters sped past yesterday and an Apache helicopter hovered nearby.  I shall, of course, raise a glass – it will be a pleasure to do so. I shall also raise a glass to the men and women who are currently fighting a war in Afghanistan.

A short postcard this week… but, be sure, I shall be writing about many things this weekend.

Continuing with the armed forces theme… I really could not resist this. My thanks to fellow Twitter user @helencurry

Best, as ever

Charon

A series of podcasts on Civil Liberties – and the right to a fair trial

A series of podcasts on Civil Liberties – and the right to a fair trial

Roger Smith, Director of Justice, writing in this week’s edition of The Law Society Gazette has a thoughtful piece called Acts of Folly and states: “New Labour’s anti-terrorism legislation has proved ill considered and unnecessary.”

He adds..“We should remove the ban on the use of intercept evidence. It is the reason why, in at least some cases, the government cannot get a criminal conviction.”

I have completed a series of three podcasts on the right to a fair trial from three different perspectives….

Lawcast 145: Diane Abbott MP on the use of secret evidence Today I am talking to Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington about her latest campaign to prevent the use of “secret” evidence in UK courts. Earlier in the year Diane tabled an early day motion (EDM) declaring “that this House believes the use of secret evidence in UK courts is fundamentally wrong”, and calling on the government “to begin an immediate independent review into the use of evidence that is not ever heard by the defendant or their lawyer but which is used to justify indefinite detention, severe bail conditions or control orders”. Listen to the podcast

Read Carl Gardner on Lords judgment: Home Secretary v AF

Lawcast 141: The House of Lords judgment on control orders Today I am talking to Carl Gardner, ex government lawyer and author of the Head of Legal blog about the House of Lords judgment in Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) v AF (Appellant) (FC) and another (Appellant) and one other action Lord Pannick, QC represented the lead appellant, AF “Since the Home Secretary can no longer impose control orders without telling the controlees the substance of the case they have to meet, the right decision — legally and politically — would be to abandon the discredited control order regime and concentrate on prosecuting in the criminal courts those against whom there is evidence of wrongdoing.” We also cover Diane Abbot MP’s campaign about secret evidence Listen to the podcast

Lawcast 143: On the importance of Jury trials Four men accused of being part of a gang that stole £1.75 million in a raid at Heathrow face the first criminal trial without a jury in England and Wales for 400 years after an historic Court of Appeal decision on Thursday The Times reported “ The ruling means that the new trial, which would normally be tried by a jury, will be the first of its kind in England and Wales under legislation that took effect in 2003 to prevent jury nobbling. The only other judge-only trials for serious cases, known as Diplock trials, have been in Northern Ireland.” Today I am talking to Tim Kevan, a barrister, author of the babybarista blog and forthcoming BabyBarista book and co-founder of the legal training company CPD Webinars”. Listen to the podcast

Abercrombie & Fitch have pissed me off and many others too!

I am not impressed by Abercrombie & Fitch’s treatment of law student Riam Dean as my post this morning probably makes clear.  It goes wider than that.  Abercrombie & Fitch, a US company I understand, is tapping into the sort of brainless ‘yuppie Hooray henry shit’ which should have disappeared years ago but, sadly, still seems to prevail.

I may have to buy some black combats and black boots and take a visit to their shop…. just to see for myself what people who work there actually look like and to see what their clients are like.  I have no intention of blowing the bloody doors off, of course… I’m far too old for that sort of thing these days… Pity I shaved my tache off… I could have hung around outside looking really weird.

I could not, therefore, resist a quick drawing…

Lawcast 145: Diane Abbott MP on the use of secret evidence

Lawcast 145: Diane Abbott MP on the use of secret evidence Today I am talking to Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington about her latest campaign to prevent the use of “secret” evidence in UK courts. Earlier in the year Diane tabled an early day motion (EDM) declaring “that this House believes the use of secret evidence in UK courts is fundamentally wrong”, and calling on the government “to begin an immediate independent review into the use of evidence that is not ever heard by the defendant or their lawyer but which is used to justify indefinite detention, severe bail conditions or control orders”. Listen to the podcast Podcast version for iTunes

Abercrombie and who?: Woman with prosthetic arm forced to work ‘out of sight’ in storeroom

Woman with prosthetic arm forced to work ‘out of sight’ in storeroom
Independent: Law student felt humiliated by clothing retailer, tribunal told

The Independent reports today that a law student with a prosthetic arm was forced to work in the storeroom of the clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch because she did not fit with the company’s strict “looks policy”, a tribunal heard yesterday.

I know the retailer Abercrombie & Fitch but, frankly, after reading this, it is unlikely that I would wish to use their products. Their website shows a fit buff young man – of appeal to the laydees and gays, no doubt, and their pitch is clearly towards the so called ‘beautiful hoorays’. They have a ‘flagship’ store in Burlington Gardens.

What I find particularly distasteful about this is that Abercrombie & Fitch gave Riam Dean a job, presumably aware of her prosthetic arm (she was born without a forearm) and then shunted her into a stockroom because the cardigan she was required to wear to hide her prosthetic arm did not fit the Abercrombie” look.

The Indie notes: “But she says she was later removed from her sales position and made to work in the storeroom, out of the view of customers, because the cardigan did not adhere to the “looks policy” – a written dress code which stipulates rules on aesthetics such as hairstyle, length of fingernails and forbids facial hair. Inconspicuous tattoos are acceptable only if “they represent the Abercrombie” look.”

Riam Dean says: “Abercrombie were asking the impossible. Like the colour of my skin, I was born with a character trait I am unable to change, thus to be singled out for a minor aesthetic flaw made me question my worth as a human being.”

A look at the world of Abercrombie & Fitch

As I’m not gay and I’m certainly not beautiful enough (or at all) to use the products of this miserable excuse for an outfit

I thought I would do my duty and poke about for the benefit of those who choose to read (and hopefully rant on)  my blog . Pictured right is the type of beauty Abercombie and Zilch are appealing to…. but a visit to their ‘Gallery’ (Don’t online porn sites refer to ‘Galleries’ ? – I wouldn’t know, of course).. throws up some Hooray Henry type lifestyle shit.

I just couldn’t help myself M’Lud… and I continued to look through the ‘gallery’.
At this point I needed oxygen – not through arousal you understand – but through an attack of hysterical laughter.  This stuff is just too, too pretentious – overdone and almost beyond parody.  They have a ‘Cheeky Cousin to Abercrombie & Fitch’.  I had lost the will to live by this point… but… if you want to look as if you have just got up after wetting your bed, because you haven’t grown up and do not know how to treat people with respect… then you too can buy a shirt and look like this. (What is that man doing in the pic on the right? Is he going to tweak his nipples?)

I don’t suppose they sell rubber sheets for beds… not even in their ‘Prep School’ section.

OK… enough vulgar abuse for the day…

By the way… The Independent states: “Akash Nawbatt, representing Abercrombie & Fitch, argued that Miss Dean had “exaggerated” the effect her experience with the company had on her and claimed her problems at the store stemmed from long-standing anxiety issues. The hearing continues.”

Frankly, I am appalled. Riam Dean is a law student. Let us hope our profession employs her for her ability and does not humiliate her. I wish her luck.

And finally… the news, reports etc is up on Insite Law.

A rant… Time to defenestrate!!!

I was was one  of many  first purchasers of the Apple Mac 128k in 1984 (I think it was 1984).  I have used Macs all my professional life. They are excellent.   I bought a Sony Vaio PC three months ago because I felt I needed a PC laptop – simply because the world works on PC.  (OK.. I also wanted to play shoot em up games in quiet moments). I am a fan of Sony.  I have had Sony televisions, Sony television cameras and Sony digital cameras.  Unfortunately, the Sony Vaio is a PC and it uses WINDOWS Vista.

Mac users multi-task. Creative people use Macs.  When I try to open Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Audacity, Firefox, Word and ‘Winfail’ on the Sony Vaio PC all at the same time – it doesn’t like it.  The Mac would drink a bottle of wine, smoke a cigar, phone the prime minister, solve the fucking global credit crunch AND allow the user to use all these programmes at the same time, if need be.  BUT… not Windows.  it slows up. It does weird things.  I get WinFAIL error messages and it refuses to send emails. Add Norton 360 into the recipe (Macs don”t need anti-virus software) and multi-tasking on a PC became a Friday 13th nightmare and I just know that a virtual Jack Nicholson is inside this bloody computer… waiting with an axe to chop up the registry files and crash the entire fiasco.

So… when my PC reads this… if it doesn’t behave… I am going to buy a shotgun and shoot it… and then I’ll go out and buy a computer that does the business…. and go back to Macs!

Note to commenters with PCs: Yes I know you are all beside yourselves with how good PCs are… but you don’t know you have a problem… because you haven’t used Macs and if you start giving me advice….  I may just send the virtual Jack Nicholson with his axe, who is lurking in my Sony Vaio,  over to your computer!

The doctor is coming soon with my Rioja injection.  I’ll be OK soon.

Burqa not welcome in France….

News, law reports update on Insite Law

Nicolas Sarkozy: burqa not welcome in France Telegraph: President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that the Islamic burqa is ‘not welcome’ in France.

In a speech at the Palace of Versailles, Mr Sarkozy said that the head-to-toe Islamic garment for women was not a symbol of religion but a sign of subservience for women. “The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience,” he told members of both parliamentary houses gathered for his speech. He added: “It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic.”

While I find the burqa distasteful if it is ‘required’ to be worn, the difficulty with this statement by the president of France is that it undermines the freedom of those who choose to wear it. By choice, of course, I mean free choice.

The French are concerned that the wearing of any religious symbols undermines the secular tradition. The irony with that position is that it places secularism in the same position as religions which feel threatened or undermined by non-believers. Perhaps no religions should be recognised by the state – or supported by the state? – for therein would lie equality before the law and removal of ‘discrimination’. For my own part if people choose to believe in something, they should be free to do so provided it does not cause harm to or impinge on the rights and freedoms of others. That, however, is another problem with religions – they just can’t help themselves. They have to convert, they have to interfere, they have to control. This is why I am an atheist.

Snobbery and bed-wetting continues in Parliament.

We learn today that only three Tories voted for Bercow in the Speaker election. Nadine ‘off her’ Dorries was almost spitting with rage at the announcement.  Few Tories clapped in the Chamber. Bercow, although a Tory, was not ‘one of them’.   All in all, frankly, a pretty poor show. Dorries, apparently, described the election as a V sign to the British public by Labour.

Paul Waugh, writing in the Standard has this tale – which hardly reflects well on the so called ‘New Tories’.

I quote:  “….One mutters that Bercow wasn’t even a grammar school boy. But another example of snobbery that takes the biscuit is this:

A Shadow Cabinet minister was asked about the new Speaker’s robes and their resemblance to an Oxbridge student dressed for High Table. “I think you’ll find that he didn’t attend that kind of university….unlike me,” came the withering reply.”

Alan Duncan is reported as saying on Sky: “I think it’s undoubtedly true to say that John is a motivated and complex character. I think that a lot of people, of course, are annoyed that he worked out how to get elected and got there.”

It would appear that the Tory party still has a number of snobs and bed-wetters in it.  Surprised?

Kickbacks? Good grief!….

It would appear that people have been lurking around on dark drizzly days in The Temple…. offering barristers work in return for kickbacks.

The Bar Council announced today on their website:

Kickbacks – ” The Bar Council has received reports that Chambers are being approached by a well established company who introduce clients to solicitors in return for a referral fee (15% of profit costs). The company is now looking to enter in to a similar arrangement with barristers doing public access work. Barristers are reminded of the provisions of paragraph 307(e) of the Code of Conduct which prohibits a barrister from making any payment( other than a payment for advertising or publicity permitted by the Code or remuneration to staff) to any person for the purpose of procuring instructions. However, it is permissible for the lay client to pay a fee to a company in order to be introduced to a public access barrister, provided that no money changes hands between the public access barrister and the company for the referral.”

Well… there we are… another possible lost opportunity to compete for the Bar? Or… am I just being tendentious?