The inquiry ruled that the Scotland Yard unit was not justified in intruding deeply into the private lives of campaigners, including their sexual relationships, and suggested it should have been disbanded early in its existence.
The inquiry found that the managers of the unit frequently approved reports that contained “many examples” of racism and sexism.
Senior Whitehall officials, some of them in the Cabinet Office, and top police officers knew about the unit, which was part of a highly covert state-funded apparatus that spied on leftwing and progressive groups, the inquiry concluded.
The critical evaluation of the unit, known as the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS), was made public on Monday by David Barr KC, the inquiry’s most senior barrister.
He said the unit’s “operations have caused a lot of harm. Democratic freedoms have been infringed, outrage and pain has been caused.”
The inquiry, led by the former judge Sir John Mitting, is examining how 139 undercover officers spied on more than 1,000 mainly leftwing groups between 1968 and at least 2010. The officers were sent on deployments, usually lasting four years, to infiltrate political groups and acquire information about the activities of campaigners.
[…]
Barr said it was “hard to identify a single instance” in which information gathered by the unit “averted a public order calamity”.
He said the SDS operated with a “remarkable lack of oversight, formal training and instruction” but was not a “rogue unit” as it was funded by the Home Office and collaborated with MI5.
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) needs no introduction. With bone-crushing jaws, haunting vocalizations, and a feisty disposition, this critter is Earth’s largest living marsupial carnivore. Weighing up to 30 pounds (13.6 kg), the Tasmanian devil is primarily a scavenger, chomping down on just about anything it can find—even if it’s rotten. Fun fact: Baby devils, which are about the size of a raisin at birth, are called imps.
When local youth in Wroclaw, Poland opened a DIY cultural space that welcomed everyone regardless of ethnicity, citizenship status, or gender/sexual orientation, local nazis attacked it. The International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund has helped repair some of the damage and secure the venue. Full story above.
<3 We need more people like Haymarket Books in this world <3
They should also absolutely set up stalls around towns and cities where they give these books out to those interested, especially near schools and on college campuses
Bellerophon or Bellerophontes is a hero in Greek mythology who is best known as the man who tamed the winged horse Pegasus. Bellerophon was the son of Poseidon the god of the sea and horses and Euynome, though his mortal father is given as Glaukus, the king of Corinth.
As the story goes, Bellerophon had killed two men in Corinth, and for this he was sent to the court of king Proteus in Argos to be purified. Proteus ritually cleansed the hero but, while at court, Anteia, the beautiful wife of the king, became enamoured with the visitor and Bellerophon refused her advances with his virtuous will. Anteia went to her husband and told him falsely that Bellerophon had tried to force himself upon her, and that he should be killed. Proteus didn’t want to be the one to actually kill Bellerophon as it violated the rites of hospitality, and so instead he sent him to Lycia with a tablet that stated that he had to be killed.
This blog is mostly so I can vent my feelings and share my interests. Other than that, I am nothing special.
If you don't like Left Wing political thought and philosophy, all things related to horror, the supernatural, the grotesque, guns or the strange, then get the fuck out. I just warned you.
