Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that Frank Field MP will lead an independent review on poverty in the UK and what the Government can do to improve the lives of the least advantaged people in our society.
Mr Field will chair the Review on Poverty and Life Chances, which will report to the Prime Minister by the end of the year.
The main aims of the Review are to:
- examine the case for reforms to poverty measures, in particular for the inclusion of non-financial elements
- generate a broader debate about the nature and extent of poverty in the UK
- explore how a child’s home environment affects their chances of being ready to take full advantage of their schooling.
- recommend potential action by government and other institutions to reduce poverty and enhance life chances for the least advantaged, consistent with the Government’s fiscal strategy.
Commenting on the review, the Prime Minister said:
“I am pleased that Frank Field is undertaking this work.
“In particular I hope that he can look at the issue of whether we should give more attention to – and find better ways of measuring – the time people spend in deep poverty, the gap between those in deep poverty and mainstream Britain and the problems of multiple deprivation and what keeps people trapped in poverty.
“Understanding the real causes of poverty – both financial and non financial, including the importance of families and the pre school years – is vital if we are going to make Britain a fairer society in which opportunity is more equal.”
Frank Field MP said:
“This is a real opportunity to influence the next stage in how our counter-poverty strategy develops, and I am pleased to be offered this chance to lead the Review.”
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2010-06-09
Review on poverty and life chances | Number10.gov.uk
BBC News - Open source marks a new era for African independence
DIGITAL PLANET
BBC World Service
This year marks the 50th anniversary of 17 African states gaining independence.
Now, a wave of homegrown programmers, developers and software makers claim to be heralding a new era of African independence.
Earlier this month, the Idlelo conference, organised by the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA), brought together the continent's cleverest coding minds at Accra, in Ghana, to discuss new software opportunities in Africa.
Unlike the bigger, foreign developers - who have mainly targeted the urban markets - the coders at this event looked at how to reach the rural, relatively poorer communities of Africa.
In their words, they're people who know how to code, and know the continent.
Import risk
The meeting was hosted at the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT. Dorothy Gordon is the centre's director general.
"We have to remember that most of our people are not going to be able to read text messages, whether they're in English or in French or in any European languages.
"We have to develop and localise the applications so that they work in our own languages.
"The whole point of this kind of meeting is to make it happen, and to make it happen faster.
"And it's not necessarily going to be a major vendor who's going to invest in that kind of research and get it to happen."
Big multi-nationals are paying more attention to Africa than ever before. However, this attention has been directed at developing e-government systems.
This, says Ms Gordon, raises new issues when it comes to Africa's independence.
"If you look at the national level, or even if you look at the whole continent, you'll see that many of the technologies we use are imported.
"That means that you are vulnerable. If all your systems are imported, it creates a new kind of dependency, because you're dependant on those companies to keep your country running."
She believes open source software is the solution.
"It allows us to build capacity and competency faster.
"And that means that a young developer gets to the level where they can actually start up their own company much much faster; and that they have a whole network, globally, of people that can mentor them and get them so that they're really operating at a global standard."
Haiti help
The efforts of Africa's open source community are already creating an impact.
Following the Haiti earthquake, those affected could use geotagging software to shout out for supplies - the pleas then appearing on a website called Ushahidi.
The software behind the project was produced by developers from Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Botswana and many others - including some people from outside the continent.
"You'd send the message from your village using your mobile phone," explains Ms Gordon.
"And they're able to place you, and aggregate the data so they understand where they should be making the supply available."
The site was so useful it was deployed for use after the Chilean earthquake as well.
Just as mature markets have had to educate and adapt to spending time online, Ms Gordon says that African communities must now learn to protect themselves.
"This is one of the areas that we are really investing energy on in terms of capacity building and awareness raising.
"This is like a new world you're entering, and the same way that we protect ourselves when we're in a strange environment physically, we have to learn how to protect ourselves when we are on the net and we're in that virtual reality."
BP Tries to Block Photos of Dead Wildlife | Animals
For animal lovers, one of the most heartbreaking aspects of the Gulf spill is the oil-drenched wildlife washing up on shore. If you're too horrified to look at any photos, you're in luck — BP doesn't want you to see them.
As of Friday morning, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s tally of dead animals collected in the Gulf area was 527 birds, 235 sea turtles (six to nine times the average rate), and 30 mammals, including dolphins. Yesterday morning, the spill washed over Queen Bess Island (called “Bird Island” by locals), which is a habitat for Louisiana brown pelicans, the state bird that was once an endangered species. Forty-one of the birds were coated with oil, and that number is expected to rise.
Have you seen the terrible pictures of all this carnage? Neither have I. And neither has anyone else.
Wonder why? The New York Daily News reported on Wednesday that BP has ordered its contractors not to share pictures or otherwise publicize the scores of dead and injured wildlife.
An unnamed BP contractor gave a reporter a very different tour from the one presented to President Obama during his recent visit. Among the “highlights,” if that's what they can be called, was a decomposing dolphin that the worker said had been found filled with oil. The shoreline grass of Queen Bess Island was covered with stricken marine life, some dead and some struggling to breathe. The normally white heads of pelicans were dark with oil.
The worker said BP was insistent it didn't want any photos of the dead animals. "There is a lot of coverup for BP," the worker told the reporter. "They know the ocean will wipe away most of the evidence."
As extra assurance that most of us will never see photographic or any other evidence of the true extent of the carnage, Louisiana residents said BP quickly whisks off dead and injured wildlife to inaccessible buildings and offshore ships. Out of sight, out of mind ... but forever in locals' memories.
New York Daily News reporters trying to get a closer look at the disaster were escorted from a beach by police who said they were taking orders from BP. Even Louisiana residents have been required to sign non-disclosures.
Really, BP? Did you not get the memo this isn’t a police state? You may be able to control politicians by lining their pockets, but your bucks stop there. This disaster is going to affect all of us, and we have every right to see the extent of the damage.
In an encouraging development, this week Charlie Riedel of the Associated Press was somehow able to bypass BP's myriad roadblocks and snap some appalling photos. They may make us want to shield our eyes, but it's important we don't bury our heads just as BP would love for us to do.
Photo Credit: marinephotobank
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The Crowbar
I joined Twitter almost exactly a year ago, but I don’t consider myself an expert on Twitter etiquette. Most third party analyzers accuse me of not engaging my users enough, which is probably true. Engaging every person who tags me for Follow Friday takes a lot of precious time that I often cannot afford.
The Follow Friday phenomenon is a great thing, Twitter users staking their reputation on you and vice versa. It’s an honor to be tagged. When I first started on Twitter I returned every #FollowFriday, but then it started taking away from my Twitter experience. It became too tedious and disingenuous, so I stopped – probably to my detriment, but I just couldn’t do it.
Then, along came Twitter Lists. It slowly dawned on me that I could use it to permanently and continuously thank all those who honored me with a Follow Friday tag.
Now, every person who tags me for Follow Friday gets added to my Follow Friday list. Then, every Friday I tweet the link to the members of my list, making it much easier for potential followers to add them.
I also watch my Follow Friday list as a stream of tweets, as Twitter intended. It’s great to be able to do that for a specific set of Twitter users.
It’s not perfect. Because of my method, a Twitter user I recommend for Follow Friday will not see a reply from me. But, that’s why I’m writing this post – so I have a way to tell them that I’m not brushing them off and that I’m grateful for the Follow Friday nod.
2010-06-08
Want a moan? TellYourPhone!
---Coming Soon---Tell Your Phone Anything & Everything
Tell Me More
- Profiling - of you for your own benefit
- Health & Fitness- all sorts of different services
- Disputes - Arbitration and Conciliation
- Legal
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The Old Red Lion Theatre - Home
Tuesday 8 June – Saturday 26 June
CurvingRoad presents
The Next Curve: 2 One Act Plays
A World Premiere
'Dig' by J.D. Smith
'No More, Salvator?' by Michael Hart
Directed by Ellie Joseph
CurvingRoad steps into the world of dark humour and the surreal with…
'Dig' by J.D. Smith
An incompetent killer. A belligerent victim. What happens when a gangland killing goes wrong? And which is the more frightening weapon – the gun, or the shovel?
'No More, Salvator?' by Michael Hart
Mona Lisa spars with her nemesis, the Renaissance painter, Salvator Rosa, whose giant landscapes hang beside her for centuries. Fact and fiction meet in this comedy about love, art and the power of celebrity.
Set and Costume Design - Lucy Read
Lighting - Mark Jones
Composer - George Dennis
With Stefan D’Bart, Polly Whybrow, Aonghus Weber, Victor Perez and Belinda Wylie.
TUESDAY - FRIDAY at 7:30pm
SATURDAY at 5:30pm
2010-06-06
Felix Wankel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Wankel)Jump to:navigation, search"Wankel" redirects here. For the surname, see Wankel (surname).
Felix Wankel Personal information Nationality German Birth date August 13, 1902 Birth place Lahr, Germany Date of death October 9, 1988 (aged 86) Place of death Heidelberg, Germany Education German Spouse Emma "Mi" Kim Parents Gerty Wankel and Rudolf Wankel Children none Work Engineering Discipline Mechanical engineering Institution memberships Paki, Reich Air Ministry, Goetze AG, NSU, Wankel GmbH Significant projects Wankel engine Felix Heinrich Wankel (August 13, 1902 – October 9, 1988) was a German mechanical engineer and inventor after whom the Wankel engine was named.
Contents
[edit] Early life
Wankel was born in Lahr, Germany, in the upper Rhine Valley. He was the only child of Gerty Wankel (née Heidlauff) and Rudolf Wankel, a forest assessor. His father fell in World War I. Thereafter, the family moved to Heidelberg. He went to high schools in Donaueschingen, Heidelberg, and Weinheim, but dropped out in 1921. Then he learned to be a purchaser for the Carl Winter Press in Heidelberg. He lost his job because of economic problems in 1926.
He was gifted since childhood with an ingenous spatial imagination, and became interested in the world of machines, especially for combustion engines. Since his mother was widowed, Wankel received no university education or even an apprenticeship. However, he was able to teach himself technical subjects and conceived the idea of the Wankel engine in 1924.
[edit] Wankel and the NSDAP
Felix Wankel joined the German Nazi Party in 1921. At this point of time, he was convinced of the ideals of the Party. Beginning in 1930s, he was the Gauleiter of the Hitler Youth in Baden. Wankel had sympathy for the left wing of the NSDAP centered around Gregor Strasser. The high point of his Party membership was a meeting with Adolf Hitler in 1928. In 1932, Felix Wankel left the Party in particular because of disagreements with the Gauleiter of Baden, Robert Wagner. He had raised severe charges of corruption against another Party member. In 1933, he was arrested because of Gauleiter Wagner, who was embroiled in the corruption and cover-up scandal, and held for six months. He was freed after the financier Wilhelm Keppler intervened.
[edit] Career
Wankel engine, type DKM54 (1957)During World War II, Wankel developed seals and rotary valves for German air force aircraft and navy torpedoes. After the war, he was imprisoned by the Allies for some months, his laboratory was closed by French occupation troops, his work was confiscated, and he was prohibited from doing more work. However, by 1951, he got funding from the Goetze AG company to furnish the new Technical Development Center in his private house in Lindau on Lake Constance. He began development of the engine at NSU (NSU Motorenwerke AG), leading to the first running prototype on February 1, 1957. [1] His engine design was first licensed by Curtiss-Wright in New Jersey, US.
On January 19, 1960, the rotary engine was presented for the first time to specialists and the press in a meeting of the German Engineers' Union at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. In the same year, with the KKM 250, the first practical rotary engine was presented in a converted NSU Prinz. At this time, the "Wankel engine" became synonymous with the rotary piston engine, whereas previously it was called the "Motor nach System NSU/Wankel". At the 1963 IAA, the NSU company presented the NSU Wankel-Spider, the first consumer vehicle, which went into production in 1964. Great attention was received by the NSU in August 1967 for the very modern NSU Ro80, which had a 115 horsepower engine with two rotary pistons. It was the first German car selected as "Car of the Year" in 1968.
In Japan, the manufacturer Mazda solved the engine's chatter marks problem. The engine has been successfully used by Mazda in several generations of their RX-series of coupés and sedans, including the R100, the RX-7 and more recently the RX-8.
Wankel became a success in business by securing license agreements around the world. By 1958, Wankel and partners had founded the "Wankel GmbH" company, providing Wankel with a share of the profits for marketing the engine. Among the licensees were Daimler-Benz since 1961, General Motors since 1970, and Toyota since 1971. Royalties for the Wankel GmbH for licensure were 40%, later 36%. In 1971, Wankel sold his share of the license royalties for 50 million Marks to the English conglomerate Lonrho. The following year, he got his Technical Development Center back from the Fraunhof Society.
From 1986, the Felix Wankel Institute cooperated with Daimler Benz AG. Daimler Benz provided the operating costs in return for the research rights. He sold the Institute to Daimer Benz for 100 million Marks.
[edit] Personal Information
Since 1936, Wankel was married for life to Emma "Mi" Kim. They had no children. His grave may be found in the Bergfriedhof of Heidelberg.
He never had a driver's license, because he was extremely near-sighted. He was, however, the owner of an NSU Ro 80 with a Wankel engine, which was chauffeured for him.
In later years, Wankel was granted an honorary Doctorate of Engineering. He was known for his championing of animal rights and opposition to the use of animals in testing.
Wankel died in Heidelberg, aged 86.
After his death, the Felix Wankel Foundation sold its real estate property to Volkswagen AG. The Heidelberg Fire Department showcases his last workshop. Wankel's papers are archived in the Technomuseum in Mannheim. Furthermore, there is an exhibition "AUTOVISION · Tradition & Forum" in Altlußheim, a permanent showing of over 80 rotary engines and many cars equipped with Wankel motors.
[edit] Licensees
21.10.1958 Curtiss-Wright Corp. USA without restriction, no series 29.12.1960 Fichtel & Sachs AG BRD industrial engine and boat, 0.5-30 PS 25.02.1961 Yanmar Diesel Co. Ltd JP gasoline and diesel engine, 1-100 PS, 1-300 PS 27.02.1961 Toyo Kogyo, Co. Ltd. JP gasoline 1-200 PS land vehicles 04.10.1961 Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG BRD diesel engine without restriction 26.10.1961 Daimler-Benz AG BRD gasoline 50 PS upwards 30.10.1961 MAN AG BRD diesel engine without restriction 02.11.1961 Friedrich Krupp AG BRD diesel engine without restriction 12.03.1964 Daimler-Benz AG BRD diesel engine without restriction 15.04.1964 S.p.A Alfa Romeo IT gasoline engine 50-300 PS or Passenger car 17.02.1965 Rolls-Royce Motors Ltd. GB diesel and hybrid engines 100-850 Ps 18.02.1965 IFA VEB DDR gasoline engine 0.5-25 PS and 50-150 PS 02.03.1965 Dr.Ing. h.c. Porsche KG BRD gasoline engine 50-1000 Ps 01.03.1966 Outboard Marine Corp. USA gasoline engine 50-400 Ps 11.05.1967 Comotor S.A. L gasoline and diesel engine 40-200 PS 12.09.1967 Graupner BRD 0,1-3 PS model engines 28.08.1969 Savkel Ltd. IS gasoline 0.5-30 PS industrial engines 01.10.1970 Nissan JP gasoline engines 80-120 Ps 10.11.1970 General Motors USA everything, except aircraft engines 24.11.1970 Suzuki JP gasoline engines 20-60 PS for motorcycle 25.05.1971 Toyota JP gasoline engines 75-150 PS 29.11.1971 Ford-Werke AG, Köln BRD gasoline engines 80-200 PS (1974 quit) 25.07.1972 BSA Ltd. GB gasoline engines 35-60 PS for motorcycle 29.09.1972 Yamaha JP gasoline engines 20-80 PS for motorcycle 04.10.1971 Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. JP gasoline engines 20-80 PS for motorcycle 03.02.1973 American Motors (AMC) [1] USA gasoline engines 20-200 PS [edit] Honors and awards
- Honorary doctorate degree from Technische Universität München, December 5, 1969.
- The Federation of German Engineers (VDI) Gold Medal, 1969.
- The Grand Federal Service Cross, Germany's highest civilian honor, 1970
- John Price Wetherill Medal, Philadelphia, 1971.
- The Bavarian Service Medal, 1973.
- The "Honour Citizen" of Lahr,1981, and the title of Professor in 1987.
- The Soichiro Honda Medal, 1987.
- Honorary citizenship of Lindau (declined)
[edit] See also
- Wankel engine
- NSU Ro 80
- Norton Commander motorcycle
- Van Veen OCR1000
- Citroën GS Birotor
- Mazda RX-7
- Mazda RX-8
- VAZ
- Aixro
- German inventors and discoverers
[edit] References
- ^ Wankel-Jubiläum: Warten aufs Wunder, Der Spiegel, 21 January 2007.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Patent 2,988,008
- Animated Engines, Wankel - Animations of Wankel and other engines, i.e. steam, stirling, internal combustion.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Wankel"
Biomass on the front burner | News | The Engineer
Biomass on the front burner
14 November 2006
Niall FirthA new project at Nottingham University's School of the Built Environment aims to create the first small-scale biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) system, which is said to be ideal for use on farms and in other large domestic buildings.
The project aims to help prove the viability of small-scale CHP generation, according to Professor Saffa Riffat, one of the project's leaders and an expert in sustainable energy technologies and thermal engineering.
'At the moment there are a number of large-scale 100-200kW CHP generators but there are no domestic-sized ones,' said Riffat. 'This will be the first biomass-powered CHP on a small scale.'
The research is being developed at the school's Institute of Sustainable Energy where researchers from a variety of disciplines are also working on the experimental Stoneguard C60 house (see cover feature).
The first stage of the 18-month micro-CHP project, which began this month, is to look at ways of miniaturising the CHP components to enable smaller-scale biomass devices to be built. The project aims to develop a system that only produces up to 10kW, which is more than enough power for domestic use, according to Riffat.
Most CHP systems on the market are powered using fossil fuels, usually gas and oil, which does not sit well with the institute's sustainable energy ambitions. Also, most existing biomass generators are used only to produce electricity rather than as a combined CHP unit. The research aims to find a way of creating heat and power using a biomass-powered furnace.
The institute plans to develop the steam Rankine turbine cycle, which is already the state of the art in biomass-powered energy production technology.
The Rankine cycle uses a liquid that is pumped at a high pressure into a boiler, where it is heated until it becomes a vapour. This vapour is then expanded through a turbine, which provides electricity. Once it leaves the turbine it is quickly condensed back into a liquid then re-enters the pump so it can be re-pressurised and the cycle starts again.
This form of steam-driven Rankine power generation, although useful in large-scale energy production, is of less use in low-power systems because of its inherent low efficiency in energy generation and high capital costs. To make a system that only generates about 10kW, the efficiency would have to be greatly improved. To also provide heat generation as part of the same system Riffat and his team have modified the traditional cycle by using a refrigerant to power the turbine.
'We will have a biomass- powered furnace with a heat exchanger inside filled with a liquid refrigerant such as CO2 or pentane,' said Riffat. 'As a high-pressure vapour it will expand through a turbine at 500-600Cº and the turbine will produce electricity.' Up to this point, the Rankine Cycle remains unchanged.
However the use of the refrigerant adds a new element to the cycle: the production of heat. 'When the refrigerant is condensed and it moves back from vapour to liquid it gives up heat, which can then be utilised,' said Riffat.
The team has produced a miniature 2kW turbine and preliminary tests have revealed this modified design is more efficient and reliable than previous conventional systems. The next step is to couple one of these small turbines with a biomass boiler. Riffat hinted the research may encompass other innovations, including the elimination of the pumps in the cycle, that would make the system even more efficient in the future.
He said there is a large and growing market for a system that could reuse household waste and other biomass materials to produce small-scale localised power and heat generation, particularly in farms. 'If you are using large-scale CHP you have to get a group of houses together where everybody wants to be involved, which isn't always easy,' he said.
The team aims to commercialise the system soon although it does not yet have any industrial partners. The first prototype could be ready in six months, claimed Riffat.
Have your say
Greenpeace: Email - A million voices for the whales
Dear Friend,
Activists deliver over a million messages to the White House on Thursday, June 3rd.
Whales needed help and you jumped into action to save them. While the Obama Administration supports a deal that would re-open commercial whaling for the first time in over two decades, activists, like you, spoke up for the whales by saying, “enough is enough!”
And, our collective voices are being heard! On Thursday, I had the pleasure of delivering your messages to the White House. Your voice joined over a million others in speaking on behalf of whales all around the world. Thank you.
Activists and supporters showed their love for whales by creating origami whales, participating in our photo contest, taking action online, tweeting and spreading the word on Facebook.
Commercial whaling is cruel and unacceptable. That’s why this proposed deal to re-open commercial whaling is so outrageous. In just a few weeks, the International Whaling Commission will gather in Morocco to vote on changes to the international ban on commercial whaling.
The Obama Administration will be at these negotiations knowing that millions of Americans back home are rooting for the whales and not the whalers! Keep your fingers (and fins) crossed that whales will be spared from the path of deadly harpoons.
For the whales,
Phil Kline
Oceans CampaignerP.S. I’ll be in Morocco at the IWC meeting and will keep you up to date on what’s going on…so stay tuned. And there’s still time to get messages to the President before the IWC. If you haven’t already, please take a minute to ask your friends and family to take action by copying the following message into an email:
Dear Friend, In an altogether shocking move, President Obama's delegation to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has decided to back a plan that would legalize commercial whaling — including in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary — for the first time since the international ban was passed over 20 years ago.
We only have until the start of the IWC meetings in a few weeks to convince the President that this plan is a horrible idea. Join me and tell Obama to keep his promise, save the whales.
http://us.greenpeace.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id...
Sincerely,
#BigotBar Greencoat Boy picks the wrong LGBTs to mess with… « Grace Fletcher-Hackwood
The Greencoat Boy pub in Westminster has refused to serve LGBT Labour members this evening at their post-AGM social.
The manager told members he would have refused their booking if he’d known it was for an LGBT group. The size of the group – shown here standing at the bar after they were refused service – shows just how much custom this pub was prepared to turn away:
This is illegal and the LGBT Labour comrades have reported it to the police as a hate crime:
In PR terms there are probably few more stupid things you can do than piss off LGBT Labour. ‘Greencoat Boy’ is currently the top Twitter trending topic in the UK. You can show your support on Facebook here. You can also take the following action, and I’d encourage you to do so:
- leave comments on online pub review sites such as Fancy A Pint and Beer in the Evening
- email the chain that runs The Greencoat Boy, Punch Taverns
- email Cllr Audrey Lewis, Chair of Licensing, Westminster Council
- if you’re a Labour supporter, join the fightback against homophobia and support your LGBT comrades by joining LGBT Labour.
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Filed under: LGBT
A Skeptic Looks at the McKinnon Case: Part Two
This Blog |
COMRADES |
Saturday, 5 June 2010
A Skeptic Looks at the McKinnon Case: Part Two
Why did the CPS not prosecute?The CPS decision not to prosecute Mr McKinnon is for many the most puzzling part of this litigation.After all, Mr McKinnon was in the UK the whole time.Here it is important to note that Mr McKinnon has admitted to conduct which would be a breach of section 2 of the UK Computer Misuse Act 2000 but not (as yet) the "unauthorised modification" offence under section 3.It is also important to note that the US allegations against Mr McKinnon go substantially beyond mere unauthorised access, and include allegations of extensive and serious file deletions and of consequential damage and operational disruption.
In 2003, the CPS described their decision not to prosecute as follows (see para 8 here):"A number of factors were considered to be relevant to the decision as to the appropriate venue for prosecution. Whilst not an exhaustive list these factors include the location of witnesses and the location of real evidence, where the harm was done, the ability of the prosecution to frame charges that reflected the offenders criminality, the existence of unused material, access to unused material and the availability of the procedures to deal appropriately with it."The [National Hi-Tech Crime Unit] became involved at the request of the US authorities. The US authorities initiated the investigation. The investigation was likely to be complex with a large number of witnesses located throughout the United States and with a large number of computers that required examination also situated throughout the United States. McKinnon appears to have targeted systems owned by the military or by related organisations therefore in addition to the sheer practical difficulties of UK police carrying out an investigation on this scale in the United States there were likely to be issues surrounding unused material and in particular unused material that might be considered sensitive."
In June 2005, the reasons for the CPS decision were stated as follows (see para 10 here):- the fact that the 'harm' occurred in the US: the activity appeared to have been directed against the military infrastructure of the US;
- the investigation commenced in the US: the UK Police onlybecame aware of the investigation having received a request for legal assistance;
- there were a large number of witnesses most of whom were located in the United States;
- all of the 'real' evidence, save Mr McKinnon's computer was located in the US: the task of gathering sufficient evidence to initiate proceedings in the UK would have been immense;
- the US prosecutors were able to frame charges which reflected the extent of Mr McKinnon's criminality, whereas the CPS were restricted in the choice of charge due to statutory time limits; and
- the bulk of the 'unused' material was located in the US: given the nature of the offences that material was likely to include material which might be considered sensitive and the US Courts would be best placed for dealing with issues surrounding this material.
In April 2007, the High Court described the CPS position in the following way (see para 36 here)"The CPS did consider whether to launch a prosecution in the UK and for good reason decided against it. The defendant intentionally targeted computers in the US; his actions resulted in criminal damage being suffered there, as well as causing very considerable disruption to the workings of those computers resulting in interference and disruption to military activities in the US. It is not my task to determine which state has the better right to prosecute, but for what it is worth my view is, unquestionably, if the defendant is to face prosecution, it should be in the US."
In December 2008, Mr McKinnon's lawyers wrote to the DPP asking for the decision not to prosecute to be revisited. The High Court described the response as follows (see para 26 here):"By letter dated 26 February 2009 delivered by hand to the Claimant's solicitors, Alison Saunders, the Director of the Organised Crime Division, of the CPS, replied to the letter of 23 December 2008. She stated that the Claimant's case had been reviewed in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. He had admitted to activity which would amount to an offence under section 2 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. However, there was insufficient evidence to proceed in respect of an offence under section 3, because he had never accepted an intention on his part to cause any impairment or damage to the computer systems he is alleged to have accessed in the US. The conclusion had been reached that the evidence available to the CPS did "not come near to reflecting the criminality that is alleged by the American authorities. … We would also need to be satisfied the prosecution would be able to discharge their duty in relation to unused material given the undoubted existence of sensitive material". In these circumstances, the public interest test did not arise."
The CPS then issued this Press Release:"The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has today announced that it will not prosecute Gary McKinnon in relation to allegations of computer misuse. This decision follows a careful review of all available evidence including further material and admissions to offences under Section 2 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 which were submitted by Mr McKinnon's solicitors."Alison Saunders, head of the CPS Organised Crime Division said: "We identified nine occasions where Mr McKinnon has admitted to activity which would amount to an offence under Section 2 of the Computer Misuse Act (unauthorised access with intent). Although there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Mr McKinnon for these offences, the evidence we have does not come near to reflecting the criminality that is alleged by the American authorities.""As with every case the CPS considers, Mr McKinnon's case was reviewed in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, a public document which prosecutors must follow when deciding whether or not to charge. It states that a defendant 'may want to plead guilty to a different, possibly less serious, charge because they are admitting only part of the crime'. CPS lawyers 'should only accept the defendant's plea if they think the court is able to pass a sentence that matches the seriousness of the offending'. Mr McKinnon's offered pleas to the Section 2 offences do not allow the courts this option.""These were not random experiments in computer hacking, but a deliberate effort to breach US defence systems at a critical time which caused well documented damage. They may have been conducted from Mr McKinnon's home computer - and in that sense there is a UK link - but the target and the damage were transatlantic.""In light of all of the evidence, the CPS also considered offences under Section 3 of the Computer Misuse Act (unauthorised acts with intent to impair). In order to charge an offence under this act the CPS must prove that any offender must have the 'requisite intent' to cause the unauthorised modification of the contents of a computer. Mr McKinnon denies having any malicious intent and, in the absence of further evidence, there is insufficient evidence to prosecute him with any offence under this section of the Act."The House of Lords has also suggested that Mr McKinnon's activity would have amounted to an offence under Section 12 of the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990 but the CPS has not been provided with any evidence to support this offence."When the case was first notified to the CPS, it became clear that this was an extremely complex enquiry and would require the examination of a large number of computers, the majority of which were situated in the US. In 2002 the CPS met with prosecutors from the United States, following which it was agreed that the UK would cede jurisdiction to US authorities"Mrs Saunders continued: "Having reached our conclusions on these matters, as is our wider duty in accordance with the Attorney General's guidance for handling criminal cases in the USA, we also reconsidered in which jurisdiction the case is best prosecuted - and that remains the United States.""The facts have remained the same. The bulk of the evidence is located in the United States, the activity was directed against the military infrastructure of the United States, the investigation commenced in the United States and was ongoing, and there are a large number of witnesses, most of whom are located in the United States.""The CPS did not consider Mr McKinnon's diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. This could have been considered under the second of the Code tests - whether it is in the public interest to prosecute. All cases must first pass an evidential test and then the public interest test only if that test is satisfied. Because this stage was not reached, the public interest test did not therefore arise."The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, was consulted on the decision."
Not long after, Mr McKinnon appears to have reconsidered his view not to plead guilty to the offence under section 3 of the Computer Misuse Act (see paras 32 and 33 here):"By letter dated 5 June 2009, the Claimant made further representations and indicated that he would be willing to plead guilty to an offence under section 3 of the 1990 Act. Accordingly, the Director was invited to reconsider the decision not to prosecute, since the evidential test was now satisfied, having regard to the wider public interest which, it was asserted, pointed to a prosecution in the United Kingdom. The Director was further invited to "have full regard to Article 3 and Article 8 of the Convention".
The CPS responded by letter dated 8 June 2009. It refused to change its decision and (see para 33 here) contended that:"(a) the offer to plead guilty was simply a device by which the Claimant sought to avoid extradition.(b) the invitation to prosecute the Claimant amounted to an impermissible collateral challenge to the extradition process.(c) the issue of whether it was compatible with the Claimant's Convention rights to extradite him to the US was an issue which fell to be determined within the extradition process.(d) the Director could not make a decision at the end of the extradition process which had the effect of undermining the decisions made by the domestic courts.(e) that a decision whether to prosecute an individual should not be the subject of negotiation, all the more so where prosecution is sought by a potential defendant as a means of avoiding extradition and where the domestic courts have rejected challenges to the extradition request.(f) that upon reflection the conclusion that the Claimant's admitted conduct gave rise to offences contrary to section 2 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 had been too generous."
Mr McKinnon then sought to challenge this decision by judicial review, but failed. A further CPS Press Relase stated:
"In response to today's judgment from the Administrative Court in relation to Gary McKinnon, Alison Saunders Head of the CPS Organised Crime Division said:""We welcome today's judgment which accords with the CPS interpretation of the legal position regarding Mr McKinnon's extradition and prosecution. The CPS has maintained throughout that the appropriate jurisdiction for prosecuting Mr McKinnon is the United States. There is insufficient evidence available in the UK to try Mr McKinnon for the totality of his alleged offending. The Court of Appeal today agreed that this was a "justifiable, if not inevitable, conclusion"."
As regular readers of this blog will know, I am not a great fan of the CPS and its sometimes illiberal decision-making about prosecutions.However, has the CPS really made a bad decision here?On one hand, Mr McKinnon admits the section 2 offence and seems poised to admit the section 3 offence. In such circumstances, there would seemingly be no need for the CPS prosecution to mount an extensive international evidence-gathering exercise.On the other hand, the CPS claims that the evidence simply is not before them, and that it is in the US. Moreover, the CPS contend that the scope of the US allegations cannot be met by what can be proved in a domestic court, especially in respect of the file deletions and the alleged damage.Perhaps the CPS has a point: it cannot bring a prosecution just because the offence will be admitted, if the CPS otherwise has not got any access to the evidence to justify bringing the prosecution.It surely correct that the CPS cannot prosecute just for convenience, if it has no evidence to actually justify the prosecution.So the CPS may be in a genuinely difficult position.The US allegations are such that, in respect of the alleged damage caused by the hacking, there does not appear to be a real choice between a UK or US prosecution.One would think that the sensible way forward would be for the US to drop the damage allegations, allowing the CPS to prosecute Mr McKinnon for the section 2 unauthorised access offence alone, on the basis of his own admissions.
The UFOsJust a quick note on the relevance of Mr McKinnon looking for UFOs and similar things in this litigation.There isn't any.Indeed, at an early stage in this litigation, the approach of Mr McKinnon's lawyers was very different.Mr McKinnon's motivations were to be taken as political: so political that he should not be extradited because of his political opinions.As the first High Court judgment stated (paras 16 and 17 here):"Section 79 required the District Judge to decide whether extradition is barred by "extraneous considerations". "By section 81, a person's extradition to a category 2 territory is barred by reason of extraneous considerations if (and only if) it appears that
"(a) the request for his extradition (though purporting to be made on account of the extradition offence) is in fact made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing him on account of his race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation or political opinions, or
(b) if extradited he might be prejudiced at his trial or punished, detained or restricted in his personal liberty by reason of his race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation or political opinions.""The point sought to be made by Mr Lawson is that the US Government is relying upon evidence of Mr McKinnon's admissions to being the author of the words "US foreign policy is akin to government-sponsored terrorism these days", "It was not a mistake that there was a huge security stand-down on September 11th last year" and "I am SOLO. I will continue to disrupt at the highest levels". Mr Lawson further suggests that the US Government has been embarrassed at the ease with which Mr McKinnon obtained access to supposedly secure computers. Upon this basis, he suggests that, at the very least, Mr McKinnon might be prejudiced at his trial or punished by reason of his political opinions. He points out that the language of section 81(b) is that of "might be prejudiced … or punished …", suggesting that this is a relatively low test. Notwithstanding that the threshold is relatively low, this ground of appeal is totally lacking in merit. The relevant question under section 81(b) is not whether Mr McKinnon did what he is alleged to have done by reason of his political opinions. It is whether his political opinions (whatever they may be) are such that he would suffer prejudice at the hands of an American judge and jury. There is no evidence and absolutely no reason to suppose that Mr McKinnon might suffer prejudice of this sort."
After this section 81 defence fails, we hear no more of Mr McKinnon being "prejudiced at his trial or punished by reason of his political opinions". Instead, we start to read in the tabloids about how he was looking for UFOs all along.COMMENTS MODERATION No purely anonymous comments will be published; always use a name for ease of reference by other commenters. Flaming and venting comments are unlikely to be published.
The Jack of Kent Blog is by Allen Green, convenor of Westminster Skeptics and a freelance legal and policy writer working in London. I also write the Bad Law weekly blog for The Lawyer. You can follow me on Facebook and on Twitter. Jack of Kent was a hero of medieval folklore, about whom stories were told of how he outwitted the devil - see more on him here.
Awarded Pod Delusion Blogger of the Year 2009 (by Crispian Jago). One of The Times Five Best Blogs - 5 November 2009. 
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2010-06-04
World Cup Report: The Forgotten Children | News Of The World
The forgotten children
Behind the glitz of the preparations for the World Cup, homeless, orphaned kids are being rounded up by police and dumped out of sight. We meet the British women helping to give them a future
By Laura Millar, 30/05/2010
Under the glare of the midday sun, workers are busy putting the finishing touches to the new state-of-the-art football stadium.
In just two weeks, tens of thousands of fans will descend on the city of Durban in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
But all the pomp and ceremony linked to the games can't gloss over the ugly truth: that South Africa has millions of AIDS orphans - many of them homeless, begging for food and addicted to sniffing glue.
Children like eight-year-old orphan Moeketsi*, whose parents both died from AIDS three years ago. For him, every day is a struggle for survival as he tries to avoid the violent gangs, child traffickers and rapists who prowl the streets.
Lucy with one of the children she's helpedAnd recently, Moeketsi - and children like him - have faced another, greater fear. The police.
Over the past few months, unmarked vans - driven by the Durban Municipal Police - have patrolled the streets. Their aim? To round up homeless street kids and dump them outside the city boundaries, away from the media spotlight and the holiday-happy football fans, and also from the only hope they have of getting help.
It's been reported that homeless children have been rounded up using tear gas, sometimes beaten, then driven away. And it's British charities who are trying to raise awareness of the practice as they work to support these desperate youngsters who have nothing and no one.
The deprivation is hard to describe
Former PA Lucy Caslon, 28, founded UK-based charity Msizi Africa in 2007. For the past year, she's been working with Durban charity Umthombo, a street-shelter project for homeless children.
"It seems the authorities don't want anything to get in the way of the country's positive image during the World Cup," Lucy says. "I heard of one 17 year old who ran into the path of a car trying to escape being herded into a police van. He was killed instantly. It's heart-breaking."
According to United Nations statistics on HIV, there are 3 million AIDS orphans in South Africa. Many of them have become 'street kids' - children who are homeless and sleep on pavements or in doorways. In Durban, one of the World Cup centres, there are hundreds of them, and thousands more kids who beg on the streets during the day, but have a home to go to at night.
Alice at a community project in Soweto"I first became aware of the horrors facing some of South Africa's homeless children when I visited Durban last year," says Lucy, who had previously spent time working at an orphanage in neighbouring Lesotho.
"The first time I came here to visit the street shelter, I can't explain how shocked I was. The kids were malnourished, high on glue to dull their hunger pangs and living in fear of being attacked by gangs. Unless you see it for yourself, the sheer deprivation of the place is hard to describe.
"It seemed that the authorities had washed their hands of the kids. I knew I had to help."
Since founding the charity, Msizi, which means 'helper' in Zulu, Lucy has raised more than �300,000. In 2008, she won a year's sponsorship from The Vodafone Foundation's World Of Difference Programme, enabling her to commit � to fund-raising for the charity full-time. She estimates it costs just �5 to feed one child for a month - while a full-price World Cup final ticket costs up to �630.
The new World Cup stadium in DurbanTogether with Umthombo, Lucy has helped to provide three meals a day for hundreds of the city's homeless children.
She hopes that the promise of a good meal will bring the children to the Umthombo street child shelter, called Safe Space. As well as food supplied by Msizi, the kids can get support and rehabilitation from the shelter's staff, many of whom are former street children themselves. They're offered information about safe housing and education, plus access to counsellors who can give advice on living with HIV.
"The offer of food brings the kids into the shelter and once they're there, they start interacting with the workers," Lucy says. "Providing meals for them is a tiny part of getting them off the streets, but it's so important that they eat properly, especially as so many of them are HIV-positive. A healthy diet boosts their immune system, helps their HIV medicine work effectively and enables them to put on weight."
With no parents and no help from the Government, charities like these are the street kids' only lifeline.
Rescued children have the promise of a futureOnce children have taken that important first step by seeking support, they're helped to live a safer life.
"We try to engage with the children to help them stay off the streets during the day and to deal with their glue addiction," says Umthombo founder Tom Hewitt. "We have programmes of surfing and football lessons to give the kids something to do, and they have access to social workers.
"Our ultimate aim is to get them back living within their communities, with any extended family or in older-child-headed households that our carers can supervise. But there is a long way to go."
Once the children have managed to secure safe housing, they are then encouraged to return to school in order to try to escape the poverty trap for good.
Football fever is everywhere but at what cost?Unfortunately, preparations for the World Cup have started to have an adverse effect on the education on offer, too. In one province, two schools have reportedly been knocked down to make way for a new football stadium, leaving kids in make-shift classrooms.
Lucy admits the task can seem daunting, but insists she can see a real difference being made to these children's lives.
"Because the children are eating well, they get bigger and stronger, their eyes are brighter, their skin is clearer and they don't come down with colds or coughs as often," she says. "And with charity support workers helping them, they manage to stop sniffing glue too.
"It's fantastic to see them running around and playing, just being little kids again.
"Life on the streets can harden them, but deep down all these children really want is love."
'These kids deserve a chance'
Alice is helping to make a differenceCommunity fund-raiser Alice Gilkes, 29, from London, has been working for the Starfish Greathearts Foundation for two years. She flies out to visit projects in South Africa once a year. She says:
"Although I was aware of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa, nothing could have prepared me for the reality when I visited.
Orphans are surviving in dire poverty. Many have no relatives and are living in basic shacks, often without running water. After the death of a parent, it falls to the eldest child to care for their siblings. Too young to work, they take to the streets to beg for money or food. It's such a desperate existence.
The charity I work for was set up in 2001, by two South Africans living in London, to improve these children's lives. We employ local workers who find foster families, and identify kids whose parents are sick to make sure they're cared for.
I recently met a girl called Sindi*, who was nine and had lost both her parents to AIDS-related illnesses. She had been looking after her two younger sisters, begging to feed them and herself. A neighbour spotted her one morning and told one of our workers. Sindi and her sisters were taken into the charity's care, while other workers tried to find them a foster family. With the charity's help, Sindi is back in school while her sisters are cared for at home by their new foster mum. In just a few months, she's transformed from a scrawny, scared child into a bright-eyed girl enjoying school.
The charity doesn't just find the children new families - it funds projects to ensure they have access to education, books, uniforms and stationery. Since Starfish was set up, it's helped over 36,000 children to avoid a future on the streets. With good diets, an education and a safe place to sleep, these innocent victims can achieve their dreams."
South Africa facts and figures
- There are homeless street kids living in all the three main cities of South Africa - Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
- Figures suggest there are now 3 million orphans as a result of AIDS in South Africa**.
- An estimated 5.7 million South Africans are living with HIV**.
- Child trafficking in South Africa is rife - 1,700 kids go missing each year.
- For more details on how you can help, visit Umthombo.org, Msiziafrica.org.uk and Starfishcharity.org
It's been reported that homeless children have been rounded up using tear gas, sometimes beaten, then driven away. And it's British charities who are trying to raise awareness of the practice as they work to support these desperate youngsters who have nothing and no one.
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cause célèbre and the basis for the current libel reform campaign."