‘Anonymous’ hackers intercept conversation between FBI and Scotland Yard on how to deal with hackers

February 3, 2012

The hacker apparently managed to access the call after getting into an FBI agent’s email which gave details of the call. The email was also posted online. The conversation concerned a young member of another hacking collective who was cooperating with the police in Britain.  The attack on the FBI was initially announced with a text post on the website Pastebin. A link to an MP3 recording of the conference call was later put up and publicised on numerous Twitter accounts. The email referred to an investigation on both sides of the Atlantic into a number of hacking groups. It read: “A conference call is planned for next Tuesday (January 17, 2012) to discuss the on-going investigations related to Anonymous, Lulzsec, Antisec, and other associated splinter groups.”

The call referred to a 15-year-old listed as a member of DSLSec – a copy-cat group of hackers that claims to have links with Anonymous and LulzSec. Agents called him “another juvenile wannabe type” that began cooperating after “a clip round the ear” from his parents, with one officer referring to him as an “idiot.” One anonymous member tweeted: “Man you’re f*****g dumb. It’s a conversation discussing anonymous/lulzsec and your wanna-be ass. your UK agent calls you an idiot.” The young man, who is not being named by the Daily Telegraph for legal reasons, has sent out a number of tweets responding to the posting saying: “lol [laughs out loud] I’m UK not USA, no FBI can touch me. Idiot…why wud FBI talk about me? I’m not even US & haven’t been arrested. I’m still here ain’t I? lol…I haven’t heard it yet…& I haven’t got a UK agent lol.” The FBI confirmed hackers had intercepted a confidential phone call, and said it was hunting those responsible.

Anonymous ‘intercept FBI and Scotland Yard phone call’

February 3, 2011

Hacking network Anonymous has released a recording of a conference call between the FBI and UK police in which they discuss efforts against hacking. The conversation covers the tracking of Anonymous and other splinter groups, dates of planned arrests and details of evidence held by police. Anonymous also published an email, apparently from the FBI, giving the email addresses of call participants. The FBI confirmed the leak and said it was hunting those responsible. It said the information “was intended for law enforcement officers only and was illegally obtained,” the Associated Press news agency reports.

British police at Scotland Yard said they were working on a statement. According to the alleged email, the 17-minute phone call took place on 17 January. It was unclear how Anonymous had managed to obtain the recording. The email was sent to law enforcement officials in the US, UK, Sweden, Ireland and other countries, inviting them to “discuss the on-going investigations related to Anonymous, Lulzsec, Antisec, and other associated splinter groups”.  In the call, British and American voices said to be police and FBI agents discuss the names of some of the people they were tracking and plans for legal action.  Usernames are included but some of the real names of people being investigated appear to have been bleeped out.

Among those discussed are two British men, Ryan Cleary and Jake Davis, who are wanted in the US for their alleged connections to Anonymous. One of the British voices on the recording also says UK police have made mistakes in previous investigations. A comment on one of the Twitter accounts linked to Anonymous, AnonymousIRC, said: “The FBI might be curious how we’re able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now.” Anonymous is a loose collective of hackers, anarchists and pranksters who have targeted a range of governments, companies, law enforcement agencies and individuals in recent years.

——————————————–

More

——————————————–

Reblogged from Skywarriors Blog:

If you have decided to take part in this action here are some suggestions on closing the station.  Its important that you think about security.  For example allow one person from your affinity group to know the location of the station.   Do not discuss the action online or via mobile phones.  Its best to discuss face to face.  Think about how you will get your message out? Have you identified members of your group to take pictures and get the message out online? ACTION CALL OUT FOR 8th OF FEB So now …

Iran’s Press TV loses UK licence

January 20, 2012

Iranian news network Press TV has had its licence revoked by the media regulator Ofcom and will no longer be allowed to broadcast in the UK. Ofcom said the state broadcaster’s English language outlet had breached several broadcasting licence rules over editorial control of the channel. Press TV has also failed to pay a £100,000 fine imposed last year. The channel called the decision “a clear example of censorship”. It will be removed from Sky on 20 January. The £100,000 fine was imposed last year after the network broadcast an interview with imprisoned Newsweek and Channel 4 journalist Maziar Bahari, which the Ofcom said had been conducted under duress.

Ofcom said Press TV had “indicated it is unwilling and unable to pay”. It was during the investigation into the Bahari interview that the media regulator formed the impression that editorial decisions on the channel were being controlled by the offices in Tehran, instead of the UK. Press TV was given the opportunity to respond and make the relevant amendments needed to comply with the broadcasting code, but “failed to make the necessary application”, Ofcom said. In a statement issued to the BBC, Press TV’s newsroom director Mr Hamid Emadi said: “We asked Ofcom if Press TV Limited did not have control over the broadcast, why was it getting fined, if it did have control, why would the licence be revoked?

“Ofcom contradictions are nothing new for Press TV. The British government’s tool to control the media has, on several occasions, changed its decisions regarding Press TV in its two-year campaign against the alternative news channel.” The statement also claimed that Ofcom, which it called “the media arm of the Royal family”, had failed to respond to a letter sent by its Chief Executive earlier this month. Press TV channel launched in 2007 to break what Iran’s state broadcaster called a Western “stranglehold” over the world’s media.

Iran’s Press TV loses UK licence

January 20, 2012

Press TV, the Iranian state broadcaster’s English-language outlet, has been forced off the air in the UK after Ofcom revoked its licence for breaching the Communications Act. Ofcom found that Press TV’s practice of running its editorial oversight from Tehran, Iran’s capital, is in breach of broadcasting licence rules in the UK. “Ofcom has decided to revoke the licence held by Press TV Limited with immediate effect,” the media regulator said in a statement. Ofcom wrote a letter to Press TV in November highlighting the issue and offered a choice of two remedies. The first was to switch editorial control for Press TV’s programming to the UK, the second to transfer the broadcasting licence to Iran.

“Broadcasting rules require that a licence is held by the person who is in general control of the TV service: that is, the person that chooses the programmes to be shown in the service and organises the programme schedule,” Ofcom said. “Ofcom gave Press TV the opportunity to apply to have its operations in Tehran correctly licensed by Ofcom and Ofcom offered to assist it to do so,” said the regulator. Ofcom said Press TV failed to respond to or implement either of these two options. “Press TV was given the opportunity to make representations on Ofcom’s ‘minded to revoke’ letter,” the regulator said. “Press TV has failed to make the necessary application and Ofcom has therefore revoked Press TV’s licence to broadcast in the UK.”

The broadcaster was fined £100,000 last year after the channel aired an interview with Maziar Bahari, an imprisoned Newsweek journalist, that had been conducted under duress. It emerged on Friday that Press TV has failed to meet the deadline for paying the fine, which was due in early January. Ofcom said Press TV had been “unwilling and unable” to pay the fine and that it was “pursuing this”. Ofcom has contacted BSkyB, the satellite broadcaster that carries the Press TV channel, to have it removed from its broadcast schedule. Press TV is expected to be removed from the Sky satellite service by the end of Friday. George Galloway, the former MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, is Press TV’s best-known UK presenter. Galloway has previously been sanctioned by Ofcom for anti-Israeli bias in one of his Press TV shows.

Ofcom revokes Press TV’s UK license

January 20, 2012

In a questionable move and without offering a valid response to the Press TV CEO’s letters, the British Office of Communications (Ofcom) has revoked Press TV’s broadcasting license and finally removed the channel from the Sky platform. Ofcom has revoked Press TV’s license for what it calls breaching of the broadcasting code. Earlier, Ofcom also hit Press TV with a fine of 100 thousand pounds. The British media regulator stepped up pressure on Press TV after the news channel covered British police crackdowns on anti-austerity protesters in London and other British cities. Ofcom is said to have close ties to Britain’s royal family. And the cables released by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks show that Press TV’s programs on the royal wedding, which many in the country described as extravagant, angered the royal family.

Many observers have also noted that the British government’s hostile campaign against Press TV has its roots in the channel’s extensive and transparent coverage of the role that the British government played in the killing of tens of thousands of innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Press TV has extensively given coverage to Britain’s support for autocratic Persian Gulf monarchies and even given legitimacy to the dictatorial regimes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. In January, Press TV’s CEO Mohammad Sarafraz sent a letter to Ofcom questioning the independence of the British regulatory body given that the British Secretary of State has the power to appoint or remove from office Ofcom’s chairman and its members, and even to dissolve the entire organization.

Sarafraz also pointed out that Ofcom is funded by loans and Grant-in-Aid from the British Government. He further pointed to Ofcom’s “glaring contradiction” in its dealings with Press TV. “Ofcom wants to revoke the broadcast license because it has determined that Press TV Ltd. does not have control over the broadcast. Yet at the same time, Ofcom sentences Press TV Ltd. to pay a financial penalty for the broadcast of something Ofcom says it has no control over! How can you possibly explain your paradoxical performance?” Sarafraz stressed that Ofcom’s bid to revoke Press TV’s license will not prevent the channel from broadcasting the truth about the British Royal regime. “It is futile to attempt to conceal the truth from the people of Britain, and those that want to hear our alternative voice will find a way despite your efforts,” he said.

OFCOM Contact Information

Telephone:

+44300 123 3000
+44300 123 3333
+4420 7981 3040
+4420 7981 3000
+4420 7981 3043 (Text Phone for the hard of hearing)

E-Mail:

graham.howell@ofcom.org.uk

Address:

Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London
SE1 9HA

For more videos click here

Megaupload file-sharing site shut down

January 19, 2012

Megaupload, one of the internet’s largest file-sharing sites, has been shut down by officials in the US. The site’s founders have been charged with violating piracy laws. Federal prosecutors have accused it of costing copyright holders more than $500m (£320m) in lost revenue. The firm says it was diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material. The news came a day after anti-piracy law protests, but investigators said they were ordered two weeks ago. The US Justice Department said that Megaupload’s two co-founders Kim Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz, and Mathias Ortmann were arrested in Auckland, New Zealand along with two other employees of the business at the request of US officials. It added that three other defendants were still at large.

“This action is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States and directly targets the misuse of a public content storage and distribution site to commit and facilitate intellectual property crime,” said a statement posted on its website. The charges included copyright infringement, conspiracies to commit racketeering, copyright infringement and money laundering. A federal court in Virginia ordered that 18 domain names associated with the Hong Kong-based firm be seized. The Justice Department said that more than 20 search warrants had been executed in nine countries, and that approximately $50m in assets had been seized.

It claimed that the accused had pursued a business model designed to promote the uploading of copyrighted works. “The conspirators allegedly paid users whom they specifically knew uploaded infringing content and publicised their links to users throughout the world,” a statement said. “By actively supporting the use of third-party linking sites to publicise infringing content, the conspirators did not need to publicise such content on the Megaupload site. “Instead, the indictment alleges that the conspirators manipulated the perception of content available on their servers by not providing a public search function on the Megaupload site and by not including popular infringing content on the publicly available lists of top content downloaded by its users.”

Anonymous downs government, music industry sites in largest attack ever

Hacktivists with the collective Anonymous are waging an attack on the website for the White House after successfully breaking the sites for the FBI, Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America. In response to today’s federal raid on the file sharing service Megaupload, hackers with the online collective Anonymous have broken the websites for the FBI, Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA, Motion Picture Association of America and Warner Music Group. “It was in retaliation for Megaupload, as was the concurrent attack on Justice.org,” Anonymous operative Barrett Brown tells RT on Thursday afternoon.

Only hours before the DoJ and Universal sites went down, news broke that Megaupload, a massive file sharing site with a reported 50 million daily users, was taken down by federal agents. Four people linked to Megaupload were arrested in New Zealand and an international crackdown led agents to serving at least 20 search warrants across the globe. The latest of sites to fall is FBI.gov, which finally broke at around 7:40 pm EST Thursday evening. Less than an hour after the DoJ and Universal sites came down, the website for the RIAA, or Recording Industry Association of America, went offline as well. Shortly before 6 p.m EST, the government’s Copyright.gov site went down as well. Thirty minutes later came the site for BMI, or Broadcast Music, Inc, the licensing organization that represents some of the biggest names in music. Also on Thursday, MPAA.org returned an error as Anonymous hacktivists managed to bring down the website for the Motion Picture Association of America. The group, headed by former senator Chris Dodd, is an adamant supporter of both PIPA and SOPA legislation.

Universal Music Group, or UMG, is the largest record company in the United States and under its umbrella are the labels Interscope-Geffen-A&M, the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group and Mercury Records. Brown adds that “more is coming” and Anonymous-aligned hacktivists are pursuing a joint effort with others to “damage campaign raising abilities of remaining Democrats who support SOPA.” Although many members of Congress have just this week changed their stance on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, the raid on Megaupload Thursday proved that the feds don’t need SOPA or its sister legislation, PIPA, in order to pose a blow to the Web. Brown adds that operatives involved in the project will use an “experimental campaign” and search engine optimization techniques “whereby to forever saddle some of these congressmen with their record on this issue.”

Megaupload

FBI

Universal Music

February 8, 2012 @ 12:00

20 Whitehall, London, SW1A

https://www.facebook.com/events/230582443683609/

January 12, 2012

12 Police Forces in England and Wales have refused to provide information relating to number of serving officers who have criminal/civil convictions. The forces are: Cambridgeshire, City of London, Cleveland, Durham, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, North Yorkshire, South Wales, Warwickshire, West Yorkshire and Wiltshire Police.

What are they hiding from the Public? Is it not within the public interest to know how many criminals are working for the above listed police forces? 4TheRecord has made requests under the Freedom of Information Act to the 12 police forces requesting number of serving police officers with convictions along with their offences since 2007. This request was made on the What Do They Know website which allows anyone to publicly make a Freedom of Information request. The following is a template that was sent to all 12 police forces:

Dear (Police Force Name),

Since 2007, how many police officers have worked and/or continue to work for (Police Force Name) whilst having criminal or civil convictions? Also could you supply a list of the offences along with the number of officers related to each offence?

This request is being made under the Freedom of Information Request. It’s within the Public Interest to know the answer to this question and any refusal will be treated as a sign of guilt that (Police Force Name) has something to hide from the Public. Namely how many of its officers are convicted criminals.

Yours faithfully,

James Alec Newman
4TheRecord.org

You can check out the requests and follow them by clicking on the links provided below for each of the 12 police forces.

Cambridgeshire

City of London

Cleveland

Durham

Gloucestershire

Lincolnshire

Northamptonshire

North Yorkshire

South Wales

Warwickshire

West Yorkshire - Request made by Louise Cooper

Wiltshire

Nearly 1,000 serving police officers and PCSOs have a criminal record

January 2, 2012

Forces across England and Wales employ policemen and women with convictions including burglary, causing death by careless driving, robbery, supplying drugs, domestic violence, forgery and perverting the course of justice. Those with criminal records include senior officers, among them two detective chief inspectors and one chief inspector working for the Metropolitan Police. At least 944 currently serving officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) have a conviction, according to figures released by 33 of the 43 forces in England and Wales in response to Freedom of Information requests.  Many forces could not provide details of criminal records dating from before their staff joined the police, meaning the true figure will be significantly higher. The Metropolitan Police, Britain’s largest force, came top with 356 officers and 41 PCSOs with convictions. It was followed by Kent Police (49), Devon and Cornwall Police (44), Essex Police (42), South Yorkshire Police (35), Hampshire Police (31) and West Midlands Police (27), although not all the figures are directly comparable.

The criminal records include:

Devon and Cornwall Police – a Pc convicted of burglary as a teenager.

Essex Police – one inspector convicted of dangerous driving; another inspector convicted of possessing and supplying cannabis; a detective constable convicted of robbery; a Pc convicted of data protection breaches for viewing intelligence records relating to friends, relatives or other people living in the local area, and a special constable convicted of stealing a set of car number plates, putting them on another vehicle and obtaining petrol without paying.

Hertfordshire Police – a sergeant convicted of dangerous driving.

Kent Police – a Pc convicted of perverting the course of justice in 1998.

Merseyside Police – five officers convicted of assault and one convicted of causing death by careless driving.

Norfolk Police – a Pc convicted of causing death by careless driving.

North Wales Police – an officer convicted of forgery.

Staffordshire Police – an inspector convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm and a Pc convicted of keeping a dangerous dog.

Surrey Police – a detective constable convicted of obstructing police officers; a Pc convicted of wounding; a Pc convicted of drink driving in 1988 and resisting arrest a decade later, and a Pc convicted of animal suffering in 2006.

Most of the convictions are for traffic offences such as speeding and drink-driving, but the records also include a South Yorkshire Police officer convicted of fishing without a licence.  Home Office guidelines issued in 2003 say police officers should have ”proven integrity” because they are vulnerable to pressure from criminals to reveal information.  The guidance says forces should reject potential recruits with convictions for serious offences – including causing actual bodily harm, burglary, dangerous driving and supplying drugs – unless there are ”exceptionally compelling circumstances”.

Almost 1,000 Police Officers Have Criminal Records, Including Senior Detectives

January 2, 2012

More than 900 serving police officers and community support officers have a criminal record, official figures show. Forces across England and Wales employ policemen and women with convictions including burglary, causing death by careless driving, robbery, supplying drugs, domestic violence, forgery and perverting the course of justice. Those with criminal records include senior officers, among them two detective chief inspectors and one chief inspector working for the Metropolitan Police. At least 944 currently serving officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) have a conviction, according to figures released by 33 of the 43 forces in England and Wales in response to Freedom of Information requests. Many forces could not provide details of criminal records dating from before their staff joined the police, meaning the true figure will be significantly higher.

The Metropolitan Police, Britain’s largest force, came top with 356 officers and 41 PCSOs with convictions. It was followed by Kent Police (49), Devon and Cornwall Police (44), Essex Police (42), South Yorkshire Police (35), Hampshire Police (31) and West Midlands Police (27), although not all the figures are directly comparable. Most of the convictions are for traffic offences such as speeding and drink-driving, but the records also include a South Yorkshire Police officer convicted of fishing without a licence. Home Office guidelines issued in 2003 say police officers should have “proven integrity” because they are vulnerable to pressure from criminals to reveal information. The guidance says forces should reject potential recruits with convictions for serious offences – including causing actual bodily harm, burglary, dangerous driving and supplying drugs – unless there are “exceptionally compelling circumstances”.

Criminal Police: Full List Of Convictions By Force

This is a breakdown of how many serving police officers and community support officers with criminal convictions there are in each force in England and Wales. Some forces did not supply the information and others provided only a partial response, meaning that it is not always possible to compare the figures directly.

Avon and Somerset – 2 (excluding convictions as juveniles)
Bedfordshire – 4
Cambridgeshire – did not provide information on grounds of cost
Cheshire – 3
City of London – did not provide information on grounds of cost
Cleveland – did not reply to Freedom of Information request
Cumbria – 20
Derbyshire – 15
Devon and Cornwall – 44
Dorset – 16
Durham – did not provide full information on grounds of cost (but 4 PCSOs and specials had criminal convictions before they joined the force)
Dyfed-Powys – 4
Essex – 42
Gloucestershire – did not provide information on grounds of cost
Greater Manchester – 24
Gwent – none since July 2007
Hampshire – 31
Herts – 11
Humberside – 23
Kent – 49
Lancashire – 7
Leicestershire – 6 have received convictions since joining
Lincolnshire – did not provide information on grounds of cost
Merseyside – 22
Metropolitan Police – 356 officers since January 2002 and 41 PCSOs since April 2004
Norfolk – 4
Northamptonshire – did not provide information on grounds of cost
Northumbria – 10
North Wales – 23
North Yorkshire – did not provide information on grounds of cost (but none who were convicted while serving police officers)
Nottinghamshire – 8
South Wales – did not provide information on grounds of cost
South Yorkshire – 35
Staffordshire – 24
Suffolk – 13
Surrey – 23
Sussex – 20
Thames Valley – 23
Warwickshire – did not provide information on grounds of cost
West Mercia – 10
West Midlands – 27 since 2005 (excluding traffic offences)
West Yorkshire – did not provide information on grounds of cost
Wiltshire – did not provide information on grounds of cost

The criminals in uniform: Almost 1,000 officers with convictions from drug dealing to perverting justice are still in the police

January 3, 2012

More than 900 police officers  continue to serve despite being convicted of crimes including violence, robbery and fraud. Forces employ policemen and women with criminal records for assault, burglary, supplying drugs and perverting the course of justice. Among them are several senior officers, including two detective chief inspectors and a chief inspector working for the Metropolitan Police. In some cases continuing to employ officers appears to directly contradict Government guidelines which insist on ‘proven integrity’.  They highlight that people with convictions for certain offences, including assault, dangerous driving and burglary, should not be recruited. At least 944 serving officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) have a conviction. Most are for traffic offences such as speeding and drink-driving, but there are also offences of dishonesty and fraud.

Among the 944 are a Devon and Cornwall PC convicted of burglary as a teenager and officers in Essex convicted of dangerous driving, supplying cannabis and robbery. A volunteer special constable continues to serve despite being convicted of swiping a set of car number plates and using them to steal petrol from service stations. In Hertfordshire a sergeant was convicted of dangerous driving and a Kent PC has a 1998 conviction for perverting the course of justice. Five Merseyside officers have been convicted of assault and another has a criminal record for causing death by careless driving.  A North Wales officer was convicted of forgery and a Staffordshire Police inspector has a record for keeping a dangerous dog. A Surrey Police detective constable was convicted of obstructing police while others have records for wounding, drink driving and animal cruelty.

The total figure was revealed by 32 of the 43 forces in England and Wales in response to requests under freedom of information laws. Many could not provide details of criminal records dating from before their staff joined, meaning the true figure is likely to be higher. The Metropolitan Police, Britain’s largest force, employed the most staff with convictions, 356 officers and 41 PCSOs. It was followed by Kent (49), Devon and Cornwall (44), Essex (42), South Yorkshire (35), Hampshire (31) and West Midlands (27).  There are around 140,000 police officers, 15,000 PCSOs and 70,000 civilian staff  in the 43 forces. The figures emerged as a senior police officer insisted officers who resign before facing misconduct procedures are not being ‘let off the hook’. Commander Peter Spindler, of the Met, admitted more than 130 employees left Scotland Yard over the past year instead of facing disciplinary measures. But he said in many cases it is more ‘pragmatic’ to let them resign, and said complaints against police are falling. Simon Reed, vice president of the Police Federation, said misconduct panels decide whether an officer should be dismissed after considering each case.

Almost 1000 PCSOs and police officers have a criminal record

January 3, 2012

MORE than 900 serving police officers and community support officers have a criminal record, including almost 60 who work in Yorkshire, according to official figures made public yesterday. The statistics show forces across the country employ officers with convictions for burglary, causing death by careless driving, robbery, supplying drugs, forgery and perverting the course of justice. Figures show 58 Yorkshire officers have convictions, but the true figure is likely to be higher because while South Yorkshire and Humberside Police provided figures, West and North Yorkshire Police refused. Most of the convictions detailed by forces are for traffic offences such as speeding and drink-driving, but the records also include a South Yorkshire Police officer convicted of fishing without a licence. At least 944 serving officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) have a conviction, with the Metropolitan Police top of the league of shame with 356 officers and 41 PCSOs with convictions.

It was followed by Kent Police with 49, Devon and Cornwall Police with 44, Essex Police with 42 and South Yorkshire Police with 35, although not all the figures are directly comparable. The details, released in response to Freedom of Information requests, show one inspector in Essex was convicted of possessing and supplying cannabis and a sergeant in Hertfordshire of dangerous driving. In Merseyside five officers have assault convictions, while one has been convicted of causing death by careless driving. A Norfolk Police constable also had a conviction for causing death by careless driving, while in North Wales an officer was convicted of forgery. Home Office guidelines issued in 2003 say that police officers should have “proven integrity” because they are vulnerable to pressure from criminals to reveal information.

The guidance says forces should reject potential recruits with convictions for serious offences unless there are “exceptionally compelling circumstances”. The conviction figures were released at the same time as senior police defended themselves against allegations that many officers escape punishment for misconduct by quitting their jobs. According to the latest figures, chiefs let more than 130 employees walk out at Scotland Yard alone over the past year instead of making them face a misconduct panel. The force sacked 43 officers over the same period. But with police conduct under “unprecedented” scrutiny, Commander Peter Spindler, the Metropolitan Police’s discipline chief, insisted he was not letting corrupt officers off the hook. Mr Spindler, head of the force’s directorate of professional standards, said in many cases “it’s actually more pragmatic to let them resign”.

Senior officers have been angered by a recent report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) claiming forces were failing to respond to “far too many” complaints about officers. Mr Spindler said the public needed to accept “we don’t live in a perfect world”. Across the country, more than 6,000 people were forced to appeal to the IPCC this year, 1,200 after complaints were ignored by police, according to Deborah Glass, of the police watchdog. But Mr Spindler said: “We have managed to reduce complaints by nine per cent over the 12-month rolling period. “Ignore what the IPCC is saying because it is 10 months out of date. It’s been a lot of hard work to get here.”

Ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, or, democratic Israel at work

May 5, 2011

It happened on the day after Independence Day, when Israel was immersed in praise of itself and its democracy almost ad nauseam, and on the eve of (virtually outlawed ) Nakba Day, when the Palestinian people mark the “catastrophe” – the anniversary of the creation of Israel. My colleague Akiva Eldar published what we have always known but for which we lacked the shocking figures he revealed: By the time of the Oslo Accords, Israel had revoked the residency of 140,000 Palestinians from the West Bank. In other words, 14 percent of West Bank residents who dared to go abroad had their right to return to Israel and live here denied forever. In other words, they were expelled from their land and their homes. In other words: ethnic cleansing. While we are still desperately concealing, denying and repressing our major ethnic cleansing of 1948 – over 600,000 refugees, some who fled for fear of the Israel Defense Forces and its predecessors, some who were expelled by force – it turns out that 1948 never ended, that its spirit is still with us. Also with us is the goal of trying to cleanse this land of its Arab inhabitants as much as possible, and even a bit more. After all, that’s the most covert and desired solution: the Land of Israel for the Jews, for them alone. A few people dared to say it outright – Rabbi Meir Kahane, Minister Rehavam Ze’evi and their disciples, who deserve a certain amount of praise for their integrity. Many aspire to do the same thing without admitting it.

+ + + CONTINUED + + +