Licence to Kill

I've had a week straight out of Franz Kafka.
"What is Mr Catney charged with?"
"AOABH, Threat to Kill, Interfering with an Officer in the course of an investigation"
"What, no GBH? No GBH with Intent?"
"No"
"What evidence has been submitted?"
"Police reports. Interview statements. Mr Catney is contesting the charges. He's made countercharges."
"No photographs have been admitted?"
"No"
"What about medical reports?"
"No"
"What???!!! No medical evidence and no photographs?"
"No"
"Well how am I supposed to get them in?"
"You have to give them to the police"
"The police are trying to keep them out!!"
"You have to give them to the police"
"So they're the gatekeepers"
"Ah, yeah"
"Can the Ombudsman not give the photos to the prosecutor?"
"You have to give them to the police"

I needed valium and an afternoon to recover from that.

Round Two.

"No Mr Murray. Those photographs are for our own use."
"But you have the Continuity of Evidence Statement?"
"It's not our job to conduct the investigation. We investigate the police. Your complaint is a disciplinary matter. This is misconduct, not criminality. We would only give the photographs to the prosecutor is we were pressing charges against the police"
"But they're withholding evidence. The prosecutor has tried and tried and tried to get medical evidence off them and they haven't given it. How could the prosecutor press charges for AOABH in the absence of medical evidence? They cannot get a conviction without it"
"Um, ah. I was going to discuss this with my line manager. The medical evidence is your best bet. The photographs might not be admissible."
The cops insisted they weren't. Stuart Cassells insisted they were inadmissible and was, interestingly enough joined in this by Inspector Jim Young and Sargeant Alan Bell who just, as it were, happened to be passing. That's why the Police Ombudsmans' office sent investigators out to get the photographs and a Continuity of Evidence Statement. I want you to give the photographs and the statement to the prosecutor"
"But they're for our own use. And anyway they were collected six months after the assault."
"They're digital photographs. Each image is a file containing the date and time it was taken and if it was modified."
"But they were collected six months after the asssault."
"That's because the police refused to investigate and only did so after it was revealed to them that my assailant and his six alleged witnesses were party to the giving of a false name. On the day of my assault I went to a neighbour's house and was told to go straight to the police. There were no officers in the station, but the auxiliaries called an ambulance.. The paramedics said I had a serious head injury and had to have it X-Rayed. The police came, the ambulance went away and six officers confronted me in a small room in a somewhat unpleasant manner and told me not to press charges. They said that Katrina O'Neil had six witnesses who heard me threaten to burn down the house with her and the kids in it and then attacked her boyfriend, but they didn't want to press charges. Now I had concussion, but still had the wit to say,
"Why does she not want to press charges. If someone threatened to burn your house down with you and your kids in it would you not want to press charges? Maybe they don't because I'm the one sitting here covered in blood."
Then they cautioned me for the crime of criticising this man's girlfriend, a public figure, for her failures in her public role. I note that you've closed the case on that"
"Oh? I don't think I'm dealing with that case. No, no, I'm not."
"You know that it went to trial and I was acquitted on all three charges and am sueing the cops for false arrest, malicious prosecution and Human Rights abuses. I would have thought the Ombudsman would have been interested in the Human Rights aspect"
"Um, Ah"
"There was another complaint that was closed. I was arrested for criticising another member of that committee. The Ombudsman's office took the police line that because I had been cautioned and placed on this thing called "The Harrassment Register" and had criticised this public figure on the internet again the cops had no case to answer. The Human Rights issue just didn't exist for them."
"Um, I'm afraid I wasn't dealing with that case, but I'll be speaking to my line manager today."
"Do you have the disk with the photos there?"
"Yeeees???"
"It'll only take you a minute. Just pop it in and have a look at it"
"Ummmm"
"I really think you should look at it"
"Um...I really should go.......my line manager....."
"What about the medical evidence?"
"You really need to argue that with the prosecutor. I'm afraid we can't help you"

I will deconstruct this for you, and the line of reasoning is perfectly logical and coherent, and thus very terriffying:-

• The police are determined that Mr Catney not go to jail. That much is obvious.
• The police are gatekeepers for the Prosecution Service and decide who gets charged with what. The prosecutors just shrug their shoulders and go along with it. They clearly have no interest in justice. Thus murder charges get reduced to affray and so on. They just don't care. They even press charges in the absence of medical evidence knowing that the case will fail. It's no skin off their nose. They get paid no matter how crap they are.
• The cops have insisted that Mr Catney be charged with the minimum possible offense. He could have pled guilty and walked, but he's contesting it.
• This will be an opportunity for Katrina O'Neill to throw one of her Performances. I can picture it now. Every lie under the sun will be thrown at me. I will have no opportunity to answer those allegations in court. Her performance will be suitably extreme. For her this is Apotheosis, pouring her efforts into an emotional incontinence of Hollywood proportions.
• A scapegoat is needed for the debacle that has become the Holylands. Why not blame Alan Murray for everything from arson to intimidation to this, to that, to the other thing. The police surely have a file, but curiously, no evidence. I must be a Holyland Ninja, despite having no criminal history. Either that or they're incredibly stupid and incompetent. Or perhaps their "intelligence" is defective or false (hint hint).
  
• The cops really, really, really don't like me. This is Northern Ireland (that's another hint). By making sure Mr Catney gets off because they have withheld evidence and got Katrina O'Neill to throw the performance of a lifetime, and thrown every smear in the book at me, they have given him a licence to come after me again. Even someone as incredibly stupid as him can work it out. He doesn't need to be given instructions. Thus there is no direct link to the cops. This is very convenient.
  
• Mr Catney has no fear, no consequential thought and a history of extreme violence. His last assault on me was nearly fatal. The next attack will come without warning on a dark winter night. He likes to stab people.

• The cops have given him a Licence to Kill.

This chain of reasoning is simple and terrifying and undeniable. The officer given the task of Perverting the Course of Justice and doling out death warrants is a mere willing pawn. He could certainly have chosen not to do this. He could have blown the lid on the whole thing. He made his choice, and if it all goes tits up, will take the fall for those who gave the orders. This is Northern Ireland. It's the same old cops, the same old courts. Murder is reduced to Affray. Informers are given a licence to kill. This is not Justice. This is Northern Ireland.

Rape

You may be familiar with this:-

New Poll finds that almost half of Northern Ireland Students Believe that a Woman is Partially or Totally Responsible for Being Raped if She Flirts

Posted: 30 September 2008 New campaign to target student unions A new poll shows that almost half (46%) of Northern Ireland university students believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she has behaved in a flirtatious manner, revealed Amnesty International today (29 September), as it published a report on attitudes to violence against women. The poll, Violence against women: the perspective of students in Northern Ireland, commissioned by Amnesty International, surveyed the attitudes and experiences of over 700 students across University of Ulster campuses. The research showed that a 'blame culture' toward women and sexual violence exists over drinking, perceived promiscuity, personal safety and whether a woman has clearly said 'no' to a man. The poll found, for example, that almost one third (30%) of students in Northern Ireland believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she is wearing 'sexy or revealing clothing'. The figures are higher than those found in similar surveys carried out elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Amnesty is calling on university heads to do more to tackle the problem of violence against women on campus. Amnesty International Northern Ireland programme director Patrick Corrigan said: 'This survey shows that there are some extremely disturbing attitudes swirling around our campuses. 'It's shocking that so many students lay the blame for being raped or assaulted at the feet of women themselves. If we are going to break a cycle of violence against women in Northern Ireland, we need to start by challenging attitudes amongst students and the population at large. 'As part of an integrated strategy to end all forms of violence against women, the Northern Ireland Executive should consider a comprehensive campaign aimed at preventing violence and challenging prejudicial attitudes.' Katie Morgan, President of NUS/USI (National Union of Students / Union of Students in Ireland) said: 'Sadly, these results chime with what I have seen with my own eyes on campus. We've long been calling for better services for students who have suffered violence, and these results confirm not only that domestic abuse amongst students occurs far too often, but that students don't know where to turn when it happens. The universities and colleges need to think again about the welfare of their students and in tackling the suggestion that a woman can be responsible for being raped.' Amnesty's poll also revealed that domestic violence against female students is apparently widespread in Northern Ireland. Forty per cent of students reported knowing a female student who had been assaulted by her boyfriend or partner. Meanwhile, one in 10 local students considers violence acceptable against a girlfriend who nags, flirts with other men or refuses to have sex. Revealingly, the survey also showed that three-quarters of students did not know what advice to give a woman who had suffered domestic abuse: 77% felt they did not have enough information and support to tackle the problem and 82% were unaware of the availability of any support services on campus for student victims of domestic violence. The results have prompted Amnesty International and local students unions to launch their own campaign on campus to challenge sexist attitudes. The poster, leaflet and drinks mat campaign will be rolled out in the University of Ulster and Queen's University Belfast student unions over the coming weeks. Amnesty has also written to Northern Ireland college heads and the Northern Ireland Executive encouraging them to take more action to tackle violence against women students. ENDS Note to editors The full survey report - Violence against women: the perspective of students in Northern Ireland - is available from Amnesty International. The survey questioned 715 students at the four University of Ulster campuses across Northern Ireland. It was conducted by a group of university students working through the Science Shop. The survey questions were similar to two comparable studies undertaken in the UK by ICM for Amnesty International and the End Violence Against Women campaign. This report also includes a description, where relevant, of the variance between the results obtained amongst students in Northern Ireland with the other surveyed cohort.

That "students" rape and beat their girlfriends and other female targets of opportunity is no surprise to anyone living in the Holyland. That the police cover it up is also no surprise. That no "student" has been or will be prosecuted is, you guessed it, no surprise. When this smug little shit says that "students" are not criminals he means that they are above the law. After all no-one was prosecuted for this. The attitude of the cops was that the victim brought it upon herself because of her mental health issues. I do not know how any woman can be a part of the RUC/PSNI. One would need to be utterly devoid of conscience, empathy, decency etc; in short, simply not human. From my own experience I would have to say that that appears to be the case.

I was at Queens freshers fair recently. NUS/USI had a stall. One of their slogans was,

"Thanks for having sex with me when I didn't want it. Duh!"

This says many things. First of all, rape is so common among the "student" body to have become banal. Why else describe it in terms that are not shocking, not voicing the outrage that comes with true violation. NUS/USI, headed by a woman no less, are treating this as a matter of "educating" male "students". Rape is reduced to some kind of childish misbehaviour that needs a lesson in good manners to sort it out. Secondly, the experience is reduced to an unpleasant inconvenience. What the Amnesty International poll makes clear is that rape is not only normal to "students", but something they beleive that young women should simply expect to happen. This is a culture of invalidation that is grotesque beyond my power of words. These people are simply devoid of human dignity and human decency. Where have they come from? They did not emerge from the womb fully formed degenerates. They have grown up in a family and school and peer environment that obliterates all humanity. What kind of parents send their daughters to "study" in Belfast knowing that they will be raped, will be beaten, will be invalidated by their peers? The kind of parents that have raised a generation of monsters and unleashed them on the residents of South Belfast, destroying community after community without remorse, but instead with brutal glee.

Now the truth about rape is out, at least until a PR campaign massages it away. Ater all, it's how the universities "perception managed" the Holyland out of existence.