That this House is concerned to encourage the spread and enjoyment of photography as the most genuine and accessible people’s art; deplores the apparent increase in the number of reported incidents in which the police, police community support officers (PCSOs) or wardens attempt to stop street photography and order the deletion of photographs or the confiscation of cards, cameras or film on various specious ground such as claims that some public buildings are strategic or sensitive, that children and adults can only be photographed with their written permission, that photographs of police and PCSOs are illegal, or that photographs may be used by terrorists; points out that photography in public places and streets is not only enjoyable but perfectly legal; regrets all such efforts to stop, discourage or inhibit amateur photographers taking pictures in public places, many of which are in any case festooned with closed circuit television cameras; and urges the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers to agree on a photography code for the information of officers on the ground, setting out the public’s right to photograph public places thus allowing photographers to enjoy their hobby without officious interference or unjustified suspicion.

It’s a shame there’s even a need for such a photography code, but with one in place, at least those of us who like taking snaps in public will have something to refer to when jobsworth security guards and bored rozzers attempt to harass folk going about their perfectly legal business.

If your MP hasn’t signed the motion the best way to get in touch and give him or her an encouraging nudge is via WriteToThem.

I’ve written to my MP, Ann McKechin, but since her record on issues like this is pretty dubious — she’s strongly in favour of dubious anti-terror legislation and ID cards — I doubt it’ll do much good. Should McKechin reply, I’ll post her response here.

I’m inclined to think that what we’re seeing is a mixture of racism, stupidity, xenophobia and class conflict, rather than simple deliberate, conscious, outright racism. It’s worth noting that we haven’t heard a racist peep from the racist contingent directed at Jermaine Jackson—he’s not perceived as ‘foreign’ because his accent is American, and the three women have felt no discomfort about the class gulf between them, because, unlike Shilpa, he doesn’t treat them like uppity servants.

Germaine Greer nails it, I think, in today’s Guardian:

The problem is that most of the housemates are too dim to convey what a pain in the ass Shilpa is without appearing to persecute her.

Not that I’m defending Jade Goody, Jo S Club and the Scouse one—the latter two in particular have made some pretty grisly comments—I just think that the issue is perhaps a little more complex than ‘OMG! They’re total racists!’.

Interesting, too, to compare this scandal to the first time Big Brother contestants, and the viewing public, faced accusations of racism. Back then, it was over Jade Goody, who is mixed race, and her ‘piggy’ nose.

Update, the next day:

Last night’s episode made great viewing.

Channel Four and Endemol covered their backs by including a segment in which Danielle Whatsit was confronted in the diary room about her opinion that Shilpa should ‘go back home’. Bizarrely, she seemed unaware that she’d been caught making a stock racist statement, instead dwelling on the unconscionable awfulness of suggesting that someone should leave the Big Brother house.

Jade’s spat with Shilpa was pretty ugly, but in the aftermath, it was clear that Jade couldn’t give a toss that her nemesis is Indian, homing in on the fact that Shilpa had said she needed elocution lessons, and that she looks down on her for being working class, and accidentally rather than deservedly famous. Jade also, with unusual eloquence, suggested that Shilpa should consider the position of her fanbase before she turns on people for being poor (formerly, in Jade’s case) and uneducated. Jo S Club’s ‘[Shilpa] can’t even speak English herself’ remark did rather make me wonder, though.

So, where does that leave us? Danielle Whatsit is a dim bulb, and a nasty little playground bitch, but unaware of how her comments will be perceived; Jade Goody is not nearly as thick as she appears, realises that a prolonged bout of bellowing will net her screentime, and has, understandably, a hefty chip on her shoulder about mockery from snooty, educated, middle-class people for her lack of education and, to quote Shilpa, ‘gutter’ ways. When it comes to the last, and least, member of the coven, I’m inclined to think that Jo S Club is just a racist little gobshite.

Enable Scotland launched an interesting fundraising campaign today. From the BBC report:

A charity for children and adults with learning disabilities has launched a campaign highlighting the greater donations given to animal charities.

Enable Scotland said animal charities received nearly twice as much funding as disability ones.

Its new campaign features posters of adults with learning disabilities alongside straplines like “If I ate out of a dog bowl would you like me more?”.

I reckon they should be applauded for being brave enough to highlight the fact that many people would rather donate money to aid animals rather than humans, but I worry that the campaign will be counter-productive—the posters could easily be read as anti-animal charity, rather than pro-human charity.

You can donate to Enable Scotland here.

These past few weeks, politicians and newspapers and business leaders have been falling over one another to support the NatWest Three, the bankers extradited to the US to stand trial for their alleged part in the Enron collapse. And as they do, I think: what about north London hacker Gary McKinnon? He’s about to be extradited, too. Why is nobody interested in Gary McKinnon?

The NatWest Three have secured the services of a PR company; Gary McKinnon hasn’t: he can barely afford to pay his phone bill. People such as Sir Digby Jones, the former director general of the CBI, have been giving speeches about how US-UK business relations are suffering in the wake of the NatWest Three’s extradition; nobody is giving influential speeches in support of Gary McKinnon. The only people who seem to care much about him - besides the odd Lib Dem MP - are his fellow stoner UFO nerds. And who is going to listen to them?

…

The prison sentence the US justice department is seeking is up to 70 years. What Gary was hunting for, as he snooped around Nasa and the Pentagon’s network, was evidence of a UFO cover-up.

Given the state of their prison system, I don’t think we should extradite anyone to the US, let alone this chap, who comitted his crimes in the UK and should therefore be prosecuted under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

See also: Game Over, Ronson’s 2005 Guardian piece on McKinnon, and the campaigning website Free Gary McKinnon.

Between elections the internet is really starting to challenge politics as usual. As part of this change, we’d like to put you in touch with your new MP. Not for a specific purpose, but in order to hear what they’re working on, to debate their thoughts in a safe, friendly environment, and generally to build better, more useful relationships between constituents and their MPs.

If you enter your details, we’ll add you to a queue of other people in your constituency. When enough have signed up, your MP will get sent an email. It’ll say “20 of your constituents would like to hear what you’re up to – hit reply to let them know.” If they don’t reply, nothing will happen, until they get an email which says there are now 100 people; 200 people; 500 people – until it is nonsensical not to reply and start talking.

When your MP replies, it won’t be one-way spam, and it won’t be an inbox-filling free-for-all. Instead, each email will have a link at the bottom, which will take you straight to a forum where the first post will contain the MP’s email. There’ll be no tiresome login – you can just start talking about what they’ve said. Safe, easy and democratic.

When I signed up I brought the total number of users in my constituency to 19, so only one more Glasgow North constituent needs to join in before we find out whether Anne McKechin (Labour, fairly Blairite voting record) will respond.

Related posts: Write To Them, Write To Them, They Write Back

> I will actively support those people who, on behalf of all of us, refuse to register for an ID card, and I pledge to pay at least £20 into a fighting fund for them but only if 50000 other people will too.

If you’re against ID cards but fear that not registering would hamper your or your family’s ability to work, travel and generally exist with full civil rights, do sign up.

> The Co-operative Bank has asked an evangelical Christian group to close its account because of its anti-homosexual views. The bank said the opinions of Christian Voice were incompatible with its support for diversity.

Well done that bank. Stephen Green, who leads this tiny band of extremists, has responded with spectacular hypocrisy, bleating that the Co-op are discriminating against him. He seems to think that this discrimination is bad, not at all like the discrimination based on sexuality, gender and religous belief advocated by Green and his theocratic chums. You can listen to the bleating on the Today Programme.

I will refuse to register for an ID card and will donate £10 to a legal defence fund but only if 10,000 other people will also make this same pledge.

You can too, should you so wish, at PledgeBank.

Strange too:- this is the first election during which I am without a television, so it’s Radio 4 until the early hours instead of Peter Snow waving his swingometer all up in my face. Won’t be the same without him.

WriteToThem.com makes it easy for folk to get in touch with their various representatives, from local councillors to MEPs, via fax and email, so, if, like me, you find yourself in a towering rage as the Today Programme feeds you dreadful news each and every morning, it only takes a couple of clicks to unleash your inner Angry of Tunbridge Wells. I don’t use it nearly enough, to be honest, so this is in part a note to myself to harass my representatives more regularly.

In case anyone was wondering, I was using WriteToThem.com to pester my seven MEPs about EU software patent legislation - Lord, could I sound any sadder? - and David Martin MEP responded almost immediately with a clarification of his position on the issue, and useful information on the proposed legislation. I’ll save wittering about the crazy world of patent law for another post, as I’m waiting for permission from Martin to quote from his email, but for now, have a look at No To Software Patents for a quick guide to why the Directive on the Patenting of Computer Implemented Inventions must not be allowed into the statute books.