This summer saw England erupt with a level of rioting not witnessed since the unrest of the early 1980s.

On Saturday the 6^th of August, what started out as a peaceful protest at Tottenham police station over the death of Mr Mark Duggan quickly escalated into a mass of country-wide disturbances, resulting in 5 deaths and over 3000 arrests.

Mark Duggan was shot dead on August the 4th by police during a specialist operation by Operation Trident, the unit which deals with gun crime in the African and Caribbean communities. At the time it was widely speculated, including by the mainstream media, that Mr Duggan was killed after shots were exchanged. However, the Independent Police Complaints Commission’s ballistics report later revealed that there was ‘no evidence’ that a handgun found near Mr Duggan had actually been used.

Although all reports stated that the initial protest was entirely peaceful, at around 20.30 that evening the first sparks of violence flared. Bottles and other missiles were thrown at police vehicles, which were then set alight. The London Fire Brigade was called in, and by 04.30 the next morning had received over 250 emergency calls relating to the riots, as the violence continued with buses and shops set alight.

This was to be the start of mass turmoil across England.

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If a riot starts, and there are no police around to deal with it, are we going to listen? The situation on Tottenham was touted as “violent, criminal elements hi-jacking a peaceful protest”, but it’s no longer possible for the media to downplay these events in such a way.

My Facebook feed during these few nights resembled the BBC News feed (only faster and with more swearing), as friends in Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester and Oxford all began, like dominoes falling, to announce that they could hear the circling of police helicopters, the wailing of sirens, the unmistakable sounds of civil unrest.

And that’s what this is – civil unrest. This isn’t the “sheer criminality” the politicians want you to think it is. This isn’t the even more moronic moniker of “mindless violence” the media keeps painting it to be. This is a predicted, and inevitable, response to the systematic disenfranchisement of practically an entire generation of British youth that has been continuously criminalised, demonised and marginalised for far too long. We take away their youth services, we portray them all as ignorant hoodies, we make them promises and then break them with our next breath (I’m looking at you, here, Liberal Democrats). Gus Knight from The Guardian put it best, when he wrote today that:

“Media attempts to blame the Tottenham riots on a network of organised thugs is the latest way to distance ourselves from the problems of this community and our young people who desperately need a voice”

We claim that if they work hard and go to university then they’ll earn a good wage, be able to buy their own house, and live comfortably. And then they finish university with their degree, and end up serving Coffee in Starbucks for £5.93 per hour; locked into a cycle of low-paying, menial jobs that they simply cannot leave because the cost of living has increased at such a terrifying rate that taking even one day off of work can be financially devastating. We have systemically marginalised those from poorer backgrounds until, quite frankly, we don’t have a lot to toe the line for anymore.

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It would appear that a blow (albeit possibly a temporary one) has been struck for ethical journalism.

As of July 13^th 2011, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has withdrawn its bid to take full ownership of satellite broadcaster BSkyB; announced just as the House of Commons was poised to vote for a motion calling on Mr Murdoch to do just that. The move follows weeks of fresh allegations concerning the conducting of illegal information gathering by numerous Murdoch publications (though most notably the now defunct News of the World), including phone hacking and accessing private medical files.

Politicians have been eager to comment, with Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, stating that withdrawing the bid was the “decent and sensible” thing do to, and Labour leader, Ed Miliband, referring to it as “a victory for people up and down this country who have been appalled by the revelations of the phone hacking scandal and the failure of News International to take responsibility”. Prime Minister David Cameron, however, apparently took a more level approach as a spokesman said on his behalf “the business should focus on clearing up the mess and getting its own house in order”.

But whilst the move has certainly been widely welcomed, many are left wondering about the long-term impact upon an industry on which we are supposedly able to depend. Keep reading…

In a somewhat satisfying turning of tables, the eyes of the world have recently focused upon Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp media empire, whose dirty laundry has been laid bare for everyone to see.

A paper nicknamed ‘Screws of the World’ due to its penchant for gossip and scandal, the News of the World has been creating headlines for 168 years – but none like those seen lately.

This story isn’t hot off the press; in fact it began in 2006, when detectives arrested the News of the World’s royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire over accusations that they hacked into the mobile phones of members of the royal household.

During the same year Labour, in their infinite wisdom, apparently decides not to reveal any information on the scandal – despite the fact that there was already overwhelming evidence. One might think that this has something to do with the close relationship between Labour and Murdoch at that time – Sarah Brown was a good friend of Rebekah Brooks, and even arranged her 40th birthday bash.

Then, in January of 2007, having confessed to intercepting answer phone messages on royal aides’ mobile phones, Mr Goodman is sent to jail for 4 months and Mr Mulcaire for six.  Cue the resignation of News of The World’s editor, Andy Coulson, who states that he “deeply regrets” what happened and takes “ultimate responsibility” for the situation.

The Press Complaints Commission says in a report that it is satisfied no-one else at the News of the World knew Goodman and Mulcaire were tapping phone messages.

With that sorted, the News of The World bigwigs keep their collective heads down and get on with some good old-fashioned honest journalism.

Except they don’t.

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There are not many people I know who can truly say they’ve met their childhood hero, but this was the position I found myself in on Tuesday this week.

Sir David Attenborough (renowned naturalist, broadcaster and the man who everybody secretly wishes was their granddad) recently released a new book, the second instalment of his wonderful  ‘Life Stories’, prompting a bout of good old fashioned  publicity campaigning in the form of a book signing tour, and I was lucky enough to be given his personal permission to interview him.

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He had been wanted, dead or alive, for nearly a decade.

The world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden, was [apparently] killed yesterday by US forces in a ground operation in Abbottabad, in Northern Pakistan – 35 miles from the capital, Islamabad.

Bin Laden, accused of masterminding the 2001 9/11 attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died, had managed to evade capture for nearly ten years – despite a bounty of $25m (nearly £15m) having been placed on his head, and massive amounts of resources being devoted to the professed ‘war on terror’.

It comes as no surprise then that many are hailing this event as a monumental victory, a restoration of national pride,  a case of much awaited justice being served and as a form of closure for those who lost loved ones in the atrocities this man so readily advocated.

But what happens next?

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Dear readers,

As you may have noticed, Casteaways hasn’t exactly been a hub of activity recently. I am currently rather swamped with university work and extracurricular activities and thus haven’t had much time to write anything.

However, after my exams are over I will have time aplenty to update.

Apologies once again, I hope you’ll stick with me in the meantime.

Gratefully yours,

Ceri

Tuesday; my first full day in the office of MP Paul Flynn.

Having risen at 6.30am (an impressive feat for a student, some might say) I arrived at Portcullis House at 9.30am, where I was met once again by the lovely Jayne, senior researcher to Paul.

I was informed that Paul would be taking part in a Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) meeting, to which I was invited to attend. For those who are unfamiliar with the workings of Parliament, select committees are committees made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues. In this case, PASC examines the quality and standards of administration within the Civil Service and scrutinises the reports of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Admittedly this does not at first sound like the most stimulating of subjects, and I must confess to having gathered a selection of other political reading material to while away the time should I need to combat any tedium…

How wrong could I have been?

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