#yardley community centre

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Queer Books July 2023

🦇 Good morning, my beloved bookish bats. I'm sorry this post is coming to you so late in the month; I planned more content than I realized! Let's rewind and look back on all the queer books released this past month. Though I'm sure a number of these covers look familiar, there are also as few that haven't received the attention they deserve!

What books are you adding to your summer reading list at the last minute?

🌈 Role Playing by Cathy Yardley 🌈 A Place for Us by Brandon J Wolf 🌈 A Thorn Among Roses by Hayley Anderton and G. L Preston 🌈 Of Love & Libraries by Brenna Bailey 🌈 A Crime of Secrets by Ann Aptaker 🌈 The Beasts of Paris by Stef Penney 🌈 Wanderlust by Elle Everhart 🌈 The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson 🌈 Go the Way Your Blood Beats by Emmett de Monterey 🌈 The Lighthouse Keeper by Liv Rancourt 🌈 Overemotional by David Fenne 🌈 Lioness by Emily Perkins 🌈 All About Romance by Daniel Tawse

🌈 Moonlight and the Monarch by Evelyn Carver 🌈 The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera 🌈 A Song of Salvation by Alechia Dow 🌈 All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky 🌈 A Warning About Swans by R.M. Romero 🌈 Digging for Heaven by Jenna Jarvis 🌈 Marigold by Melissa Brayden 🌈 All the Yellow Suns by Malavika Kannan 🌈 On an Ebbing Seafoam Tide by Alannah Radburn 🌈 The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa 🌈 The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqqi 🌈 Play to Win by Jodie Slaughter

🌈 A Rulebook for Restless Rogues by Jess Everlee 🌈 Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch 🌈 The Sea Elephants by Shastri Akella 🌈 More to Love by Georgina Kiersten 🌈 Defiant Bodies: Making Queer Community in the Anglophone Caribbean by Nikoli A. Attai 🌈 The Ink Drinkers by Dror Bloodwood 🌈 Counting Lost Stars by Kim van Alkemade 🌈 Women of the Post by Joshunda Sanders 🌈 Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle 🌈 Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review by Tehlor Kay Mejia 🌈 The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean 🌈 Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

🌈 Buzzing by Samuel Sattin & Rye Hickman 🌈 The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley 🌈 Firebird by Sunmi 🌈 A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui 🌈 What a Desi Girl Wants by Sabina Khan 🌈 The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan 🌈 The Stablemaster’s Heart by Sarah Honey 🌈 The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero LaCruz 🌈 The Valkyrie's Shadow (The Helheim Prophecy #2) by Tiana Warner 🌈 In the Case of Heartbreak (Fern Falls #2) by Courtney Kae 🌈 The Hunt by Kelly J. Ford 🌈 Rana Joon and the One and Only Now by Shideh Etaat

[sa7abnews]

UK: British Muslim leaders urge peace as far-right riots spread

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/uk-british-muslim-leaders-urge-peace-as-far-right-riots-spread/

UK: British Muslim leaders urge peace as far-right riots spread

British Muslim leaders and social media users have urged people to abide by the law and avoid rioting while coming out to defend their communities from far-right riots which have gripped the country over the past week.

In scenes posted to social media, far-right mobs have attacked mosques, launched attacks on black and Asian people, clashed with police and looted shops. 

The racist and Islamophobic attacks have triggered local groups to mobilise to protect their communities.

Unverified reports have also emerged on social media of screenshots purportedly from far-right group chats with lists of areas that will allegedly be targeted.

“When the Bradford riots happened, there was a rumour that the far-right will enter Bradford city centre. Based on that, young Asian Pakistani lads rioted against the police and some of them were sentenced up to 25 years. Don’t make that mistake,” says Birmingham-based Imam Asrar Rashid in a video posted to social media.

Rashid made the comments from a street gathering in the Midlands city, where residents had converged in anticipation of far-right riots.

“Don’t allow the far-right to provoke you into violence, for which you will be sentenced to tens of years in jail, it’s not worth it,” he said while cautioning people against wearing face masks or clashing with police.

Local police said on Monday that “a large number of people” had gathered in Birmingham’s Bordesley Green in response to reports of a far-right rally. The police added that no clashes took place.

However, reports also emerged on Monday of an attack on a pub in Birmingham’s Yardley area, where rumours had spread of a far-right gather inside the premises.

The pub’s windows were smashed, with videos posted to social media showing a man being attacked by a group of men.

Amid reports that the perpetrators were Muslim, members of the Sheldon Mosque visited the pub in a bid to ease tensions.

“I can only just rightly say to the management here that I’m very, very sorry about what has happened here today… and that is not a true reflection of who we are as a community,” said one of the mosque members in a video taken in the pub, where his group were seen standing alongside the pub’s management and a customer who reportedly witnessed the attack.

“You don’t have to apologise for everybody, its just a small minority on everybody’s side. You don’t have to apologise for the people who are bad, just as I don’t have to apologise for the idiots,” said a customer, who had later shared a hug with the group from the mosque.

“I love you all, every one of ya,” the customer added.

The local mosque has offered to cover the damages to the pub, according to the BBC.

In Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, local residents came together on Monday for a community clean up effort after riots on Sunday.

The effort was organised by the Amal Project Teesside, alongside Middlesbrough Methodist Church and Jamia Masjid Al-Madina mosque, according to North East Bylines.

The violence began in Southport, North West England last week after the murder of three girls with the UK-born suspect arrested in the case falsely identified as being Muslim and an asylum seeker.

Police have warned against the spread of false information, such as the religion of the suspect, and said prosecutions against those stirring up the hatred will follow.

Activists have accused politicians and media outlets of stirring up anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment.

[grandmaster-anne]

FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS OF THE PRINCESS ROYAL

6 October 2022

Grand Master, The Royal Victorian Order, will attend the Annual Evensong and Reception, Savoy Chapel, Savoy Hill, London WC2.

Colonel, The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons), will attend the Blues and Royals Club Annual Dinner at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London, 66 Knightsbridge, London SW1.

7 October 2022

Patron, Minchinhampton Surgery Charitable Trust, will attend a Reception at Chavenage House, Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

8 October 2022

Patron, the Wooden Spoon Society, will attend the VetsFest Rugby Tournament at Moseley Rugby Club, Billesley Common, Yardley Wood Road, Billesley, Birmingham, West Midlands.

11 October 2022

Will visit the Lakes Distillery at Cockermouth, Setmurthy, Cumbria.

President, Riding for the Disabled Association, will visit the Blairgowrie Group at Easter Rattray Farm, Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross.

Will visit the International Fire and Rescue Association training facility at Strathore Road, Thornton, Kirkcaldy, Fife.

12 October 2022

Patron, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, will hold a 50th Anniversary of Patronage Reception at St. James's Palace.

Will attend the Annual National Service for Seafarers at St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul's Churchyard, London EC4.

Court Member, The Fishmongers' Company, will attend the Court Autumn Dinner at Fishmongers' Hall, London Bridge, London EC4.

13 October 2022

Patron, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, will attend a Reception at Members' Dining Room, House of Commons, London SW1.

Patron, The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK), will attend the Women in Logistics Annual Conference at Volvo Trucks UK and Ireland, Wedgnock Lane, Warwick, Warwickshire.

Life Vice President, National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs, will attend a 90th Anniversary Dinner at the Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1.

14 October 2022

President, Riding for the Disabled Association, will open new North Pembrokeshire and Cardigan Premises at Havard Stables, Dinas Cross, Newport, Dyfed.

Will open Haverfordwest High School at Queensway, Haverfordwest, Dyfed.

Will attend the 2022 World Rowing Coastal Championships Beach Sprints and open the Coastal Schooner Interpretation Centre at Saundersfoot Harbour Events Deck, Saundersfoot, Dyfed.

17 October 2022

Past Master, the Worshipful Company of Woolmen, will attend a Dinner at Mansion House, Walbrook, London EC4.

Gatcombe Park: Guardian, Give Them a Sporting Chance, will hold a Management Team Meeting at Gatcombe Park.

Gatcombe Park: Guardian, The Chaffinch Trust, will hold a Management Team Meeting at Gatcombe Park.

18 October 2022

Will attend the Clothiers Company 500th Anniversary of Ordinances Dinner, the Guildhall, High Street, Worcester, Worcestershire.

19 October 2022

Patron, Sense Scotland, will open TouchBase East Dunbartonshire, 59 Springfield Road, Bishopbriggs, Dunbartonshire.

Patron, Columba 1400, will attend a Reception and Dinner at Blair Estate, Dalry, Ayr and Arran.

Patron, Seagull Trust Cruises, will re-commission Canal Passenger Boat, 100 Southbank Road, Kirkintilloch, Dunbartonshire.

20 October 2022

President, Riding for the Disabled Association, will visit Ashmount, Ruddington & Wenlo RDA Groups at Meadow School of Riding, Bowley's Barn Farm, Stanford Lane, Normanton-on-Soar, Loughborough, Nottinghamshire.

Will attend the Seven Seas Club Centenary and Trafalgar Night Dinner at the National Liberal Club, 1 Whitehall Place, London SW1.

Will visit Kays Scotland, 9 Barskimming Road, Mauchline, Ayr and Arran.

21 October 2022

Patron, Maritime UK, will launch the National Centre for Coastal Autonomy at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth, Devon.

Will visit the Centre for Space Technologies at Cornwall Airport Newquay, St. Mawgan, Newquay, Cornwall.

Will visit Communications Facility, Goonhilly Downs, Helston, Cornwall.

1 November 2022

Will visit the restored Junk Yacht Boleh at Haslar Marina, Gosport, Hampshire.

Patron, The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, will open the Gosport Services Community Hub at Brune Park Community School, Military Road, Gosport, Hampshire.

Will visit the restored Junk Yacht Boleh at Haslar Marina, Gosport, Hampshire.

3 November 2022

Will attend a Luncheon at Coutts, 440 Strand, London WC2.

Patron, The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, will attend a Conference at Octavia House, 54 Ayres Street, London SE1.

President, British Olympic Association, will attend the TeamGB Dinner in Central London (venue tbc).

4 November 2022

Patron, Moredun Foundation, will attend a Conference at Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian.

5 November 2022

Patron, Scottish Rugby Union, will attend Scotland versus Fiji International Rugby Match at Murrayfield Stadium, the City of Edinburgh.

8 November 2022

Royal Fellow, The Royal Academy of Engineering, will attend a New Fellows' Dinner at Drapers' Hall, Throgmorton Street, London EC2.

9 November 2022

Patron, Learning and Work Institute, will attend an 'Art for the People' event at City Lit College, 1 - 10 Keeley Street, London WC2.

Chancellor, Harper Adams University, will attend a 'How do we achieve Net Zero in Farming and Food?' discussion at Rabobank, Thames Court, One Queenhithe, London.

Commandant-in-Chief (Youth), St. John Ambulance, will hold a Young Achievers' Reception at St. James's Palace.

10 November 2022

President, World Horse Welfare, will attend the Annual Conference at Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7.

Patron, Wetwheels Foundation, will attend a Reception at Mansion House, Walbrook, London EC4.

11 November 2022

as President, Royal Yachting Association, will chair the Annual General Meeting, attend awards ceremony and luncheon at One Great George Street, London SW1.

15 November 2022

President, Riding for the Disabled Association, will visit the Maisemore Group to mark the Fiftieth Anniversary at Hartpury College and University, Hartpury, Gloucestershire.

16 November 2022

Patron, St Margaret's Chapel Guild, will attend an Annual Service at St. Margaret's Chapel and subsequently attend the Annual General Meeting, Queen Anne Room, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh.

will attend a Service to mark the nine hundred and fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of Priory at Dunfermline Abbey, St. Margaret Street, Dunfermline, Fife.

24 November 2022

Chancellor, University College of Osteopathy, will attend the Graduation Ceremony at Bridge Theatre, 3 Potters Fields Park, London, SE1.

will attend a Biennial Reunion Reception of the Association of Royal Yachtsmen at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, 60 Knightsbridge, London SW1.

25 November 2022

Colonel in Chief, Intelligence Corps, will take the salute at a Passing Out Parade at Chicksands, Bedfordshire.

[jkflesh]

Birmingham’s for-wards project’s compilation LP is out now, containing Justin K Broadrick’s composition “An Ode to Yorks Wood.” (19:26)

“An Ode to Yorks Wood” was created in collaboration with Women’s Empowerment Group, Pump Youth Centre Shard End, Hodge Hill Community Theatre and Elders Lunch Group in Bordesley Green and volunteers from Friends of Ward End Park.

Hear a live performance of the composition here.

Order the LP here.

'for-Wards' was created by one of it's composers, Bobbie-Jane Gardner, to explore the sounds and communities of Birmingham, the UK's diverse second city. Each of the ten composers was assigned a district with which they had a strong connection, working with local community groups and residents to build a library of hyper-local field recordings and generate compositional ideas.

2x LP ltd. to 100 copies 

1x 140g black / 1x 140g white vinyl 

D/L code of complete compositions 

Large 4-page booket with composer notes 

Sleeve art and design by Scott Johannsson 

All proceeds from sales will go to a Birmingham homeless charity

PRAM ‘Under the Blossom that Hangs on the Bough’

BOBBIE-JANE GARDNER ‘Sweet Selly’

PERCY PURSGLOVE ‘Nord Feld Stefn’

JUSTIN K. BROADRICK ‘An Ode to Yorks Wood’

SCOTT JOHANNSSON ‘I R I S’

ANNIE MAHTANI ‘Re-Sounding Yardley’

XHOSA COLE ‘Moving Ladywood’

SIMON DUGGAL ‘Universal Sounds’

GRANDMASTER GARETH ‘Somewhere Over the Galaxy’

PØGMAN ‘Harmonious Generations’

[sexydeathparty]

As Muslims Report Food Bank Issues, Here's Where To Find Halal Donations

A worker at a charity providing welfare advice to single parents was shocked when a Muslim caller revealed they’d enquired about halal food at their local food bank – only to be rejected.

The charity worker confirmed to HuffPost UK that the food bank user was told “to eat non-halal food if she was hungry”, instead of being given guidance on a service that could cater to her needs.

Halal food is food that is permissible by Islamic law, as defined in the Koran.

Meat must derive from a practitioner cutting the throat of healthy, conscious animals (as opposed to stunning them), someone advised on the arteries to sever, so the animal experiences minimal suffering. 

Non-halal food items include those derived from non-halal animal fat, any form of pork, and alcohol.

Even non-meat items can contain an ingredient that makes it haram (not permissible), such as gelatine, alcohol, or contamination with non-halal products. 

For Muslim people seeking Islamic-compliant food donations, the options can be limited. Thankfully, the month of Ramadan usually sees amped up charitable efforts from both Muslim and non-Muslim organisations.

Many people will be making donations, with organisations setting up food banks all throughout the fasting month. For example, the Muslim Aid charity is running a Ramadan campaign, Feeding Is Believing, fundraising for those who need support both abroad – and closer to home.

Below are some  organisations such as mosques, charities and food banks that are offering food and other donations through Ramadan and beyond.

Bradford

JKN Outreach provides hot meals and drinks, clothing and toiletry essentials to users. It has an open door policy to anyone in need, operating every Sunday 1pm to 4:30pm by appointment only – call to book.

The Bradford food bank finder shows where food banks are operating in the area, although not all of them are halal.

Birmingham

The Noor E Huda Masjid in Yardley Wood offers a 24-hour food bank service. The mosque told HuffPost UK that while stocks are currently running low, it expects a delivery next week when services will resume as normal. Those in the Yardley Wood area can also donate as the mosque is accepting donations.

The Green Lane Masjid in Green Lane operates a food bank throughout the year, running every Wednesday from 2:45pm to 3:45pm and Saturday, 12-1pm. These food banks slots are also open to non-Muslims.

Bearded Broz, part of Salma Food Bank, is another emergency food bank service in the West Midlands, offering 24-hour support all through the year. 

London

Many London mosques will have facilities to pick up food donations, such as the East London Mosque (which is yet to reveal details of its food bank hours this year – in 2021, this was every Wednesday and Sunday).

Also in East London, Masjid Ebrahim in East Ham is distributing free daily iftars and dinners from 6pm to 7pm, available for collection only. The Bow Food Bank is offering halal meals in Bow and Bethnal Green.

The Al Muntada Food Bank based in Fulham is offering community iftars and suhoors all throughout Ramadan. It will be offering halal food every day in Ramadan at the centre in West London.

Sufra food bank and kitchen is open in Brent. Users will need a voucher to access it, and it has a few hubs open around London. In Hounslow, the charity Muslim Hands runs an Open Kitchen that gives out free food.

The year-round Salma Food Bank project, based in Smethwick, West Midlands, is now covering parts of West London, too. It has an open door policy to anyone in need of food with a warehouse open for collection of food on Monday to Fridays 9am till 6pm. Volunteers will also deliver to your doorstep – just give them a call on the number listed on their site.

Alhuda Food Bank operates every Sunday between 2-4pm at its Romford centre. 

Greater Manchester

Khizra Mosque in Manchester offers food donations, by appointment, and usually towards the end of the month. all between Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4pm, to make an appointment.

A volunteer for the Stockport Food Bank, part of the Trussell Trust, confirmed to HuffPost that it offers halal and vegetarian options.

Nottingham

The charity Muslim Hands runs a five days a week Open Kitchen on Mansfield Road (and a seven day service at its London base in Hounslow).

Oxford

Oxford Mutual Aid provides halal packages.

Other services

The Trussell Trust has a food bank finder which tells you where your nearest is

You can ask local food banks if they have halal offerings, or contact your nearest mosque or community centre.

Sikh gurdwaras also offer vegetarian meals around the country to people, regardless of their faith. 

If you’re a service providing free halal food, email uklife@huffpost.com to be added to this list.

Related...

Here's What Food Banks Need (And Don't Need) As Cooking Costs Rise

I’m A Muslim Burial Expert. Two Years Of Covid Have Changed Me Forever

Bella Hadid Has Shared Another Powerful Message About Muslim Women

Upper Class, Tory and Leave Voters Are More Likely To Be Islamophobic, Shows Study

from HuffPost UK - Athena2 - All Entries (Public) https://ift.tt/HxJA1Io via IFTTT

[exploringsocialinformatics]

Post #3: A Lovely Impossible Dream

I wrote this post based on the article “The Pill That Costs $9000 in US Sells for $70 in India,” which I chose because I just have a lot of feelings about access to healthcare, especially considering it’s such a hot topic in the US at the moment. I took the general idea of disparate access to medication between various countries and went on a bit of a globalist screed.

There should be a global, regulated, human rights-focused manufacturer of generic, necessary medications.

I should go ahead and say this is wildly speculative and probably (almost definitely—like, somewhere between 99.999% and 150%) impossible, but I truly believe we should dream as high as possible to at least get closer to a better world, so bear with me as I weave this pie in the sky dream of a global community of people not dying from easily preventable diseases.

The United States’ pharmaceutical industry is a nightmare. Based on the article from The Times of India, India’s is certainly better—if by “better,” we mean, “better for the people who need medication,” which would be the ideal focus (Nagarajan). But putting any price on life-saving medication that’s already cheap to manufacture is in and of itself a telling statement on the value we place on our global citizens, especially when the medication could be manufactured outside of a competitive industry and provided at a fraction of the cost.

Or there could be virtually no cost if it could be sponsored entirely by the governments of the world or through the same foreign aid given out via the United Nations—in fact, based just on the impact that the United States has already had on global health, it’s easy to imagine that supplying more cost effective medication would only make it easier for us to give as much if not more than we have in year prior. After all, as it was addressed in a Stanford Medical article, these donations rarely cost more than 1% of the US’s GDP (Bendavid). Imagine if that medication was already being produced via a global pharmaceutical manufacturer and they didn’t have to go through the complications of mixing public and private interests to go about distributing this aid.

Free medication for the whole world is admittedly something that probably wakes wealthy industry executives up in the night, sweating and terrified, and I’ll touch on how that could hold it back in moment, but as I said: pie in the sky.

In The Globalization of the Pharmaceutical Industry, J.L. Valverde addresses several aspects of global pharmaceutical policy that would need to be the focus if we were to better bring together the pharmaceutical industries from different nations for the greater good, including the involvement of international organizations such as the World Health Organization and The Global Fund—who, according to him, have “facilitated the immense improvement in access to HIV/AIDS treatment over the last 15 years” (22) among many other accomplishments.

Imagine if we could use existing organizations like the WHO to establish generic pharmaceutical manufacturing that is equitable to all who seek their help—or, at least, to use their focus on policy to create a new organization. Not only would this make a huge impact on health specifically but it would be a global method: we’re in this together. When we’re facing huge issues like climate change that will require multiple countries to work together (Zavis 2015) to literally save the world, working together to save our people—treating all people of all countries like our people regardless of where you live—is a significant, improbable, beautiful step in the right direction.

Are there significant issues with implementing a global policy like this? Absolutely—there will always be significant issues when you are attempting to disrupt a power as big as the pharmaceutical industry, and my lack of in-depth experience in both pharmaceutical policy and global economies is holding back a full investment in my own argument. The scope and depth of this argument are difficult to determine and certainly not something that could be covered in a blog post. If I’m speculating, though—and as I said, wildly—I can address the issues essentially as well as I can the greater possibilities.

The biggest issue that I would point to in terms of what would hold this idea, good or bad, back is the fact that the pharmaceutical industry in the US has consistently donated the most to campaigns for congressional seats than any other lobby (Evers-Hillstrom 2019), which affords a lot of power to a significant portion of the global industry to influence lawmakers. In terms of criticism, though, a central argument is that something that takes away that much power from the people who have developed those medications would be a violation of their rights. This article from The Globalist is from 2000 but it had the most concise description of this argument framed against the concept of a government manufacturer that I could find, saying, “Locally produced drugs would, of course, be much less expensive than those produced in the United States [referring to African countries manufacturing their own drugs]. But to U.S. trade authorities and drug companies, this represents a gross abuse of U.S. intellectual property rights” (“Medical Socialism”).

I don’t want to completely dismiss the idea of intellectual property rights, nor do I completely want to dismiss similar arguments like the idea that it would keep industry leaders (the people who own the patents that constrict smaller companies from competing but also the people who are consistently developing important medications) from continuing to innovate and explore new possibilities. While, based on the profits they make, I am skeptical something like someone else producing a limited array of generic medication (probably based on the WHO’s “Essential Medications List,” though it is admittedly long [2020]) would hold them back that much, there’s no denying that this would have an impact on the economy surrounding the pharmaceutical industry and the economy as a whole. And, again, I can’t successfully argue what that impact would be because this idea is untested but it’s a potential red flag against it.

An argument that’s a little more grounded in reality and certainly more achievable is to have government-manufactured generic medication on a national or even state/province level in countries where this is possible. There are at least two significant proposals that have come out of the United States in the last few months supporting this concept. Elizabeth Warren sponsored a bill in late 2019 that would create an Office of Drug Manufacturing under the Department of Health and Human Services, saying, “The solution here is not to replace markets, but to fix them. The Affordable Drug Manufacturing Act will introduce more competition into the prescription drug market, and bring down prices for consumers” (Warren 2019).

More recently, just last month in January of 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom of California has proposed similar legislation, described as, “part of a multi-prong effort that includes strengthening the state’s public option for health insurance and increasing drug pricing transparency” (Lin).

The concept of governments individually manufacturing their own generic medication to take place within the pharmaceutical marketplace is incredibly progressive and also infinitely more sellable than a global manufacturer—especially one giving out medication for free. The first can fit relatively easily within the pharmaceutical industry as we know it while the latter would. . .probably require a dramatic global transition of moral priorities, which is not something that’s likely to be achieved. Like I said, though, we may as well dream big. Coming from my own perspective, the very fact that we have pharmaceutical industries at all represents a degree of moral deficit. But if we start within the bigger framework that the health of the world as a whole—especially that of struggling, marginalized people who already lack access to proper healthcare—is the most important factor when thinking about healthcare and pharmaceutical production, maybe we’ll at least get nudged in the right direction even if my own wild starry-eyed globalist dream is out of reach.

 Resources

Bendavid, E. (2019, May 16). Foreign aid for public health bolsters America's 'soft power'. Retrieved from https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2019/05/foreign-aid-for-public-health-bolsters-americas-soft-power.html

The Globalist. (2000, July 10). Medical Socialism. Retrieved from https://www.theglobalist.com/medical-socialism/

Lin, J., & Aguilera, E. (2020, January 11). Gov. Gavin Newsom to propose that California manufacture its own generic drugs. Retrieved from https://calmatters.org/health/2020/01/gavin-newsom-to-propose-california-manufacture-state-generic-drugs/

Nagarajan, R. (2016, February 7). The pill that costs $9,000 in US sells for $70 in India - Times of India. Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/The-pill-that-costs-9000-in-US-sells-for-70-in-India/articleshow/50887471.cms

Valverde, J. L. (2016). The Globalization of the Pharmaceutical Industry. Retrieved from https://www.ifpma.org/resource-centre/the-globalization-of-the-pharmaceutical-industry/

Warren, Elizabeth. (2019, December 20). Schakowsky, Warren Reintroduce Affordable Drug Manufacturing Act, Legislation to Radically Reduce Drug Prices through Public Manufacturing of Prescription Drugs. Retrieved from https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schakowsky-warren-reintroduce-affordable-drug-manufacturing-act-legislation-to-radically-reduce-drug-prices-through-public-manufacturing-of-prescription-drugs

World Health Organization. (2020, February 3). WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/medicines/publications/essentialmedicines/en/

Zavis, A., Megerian, C., & Yardley, W. (2015, December 12). Nearly 200 nations join together to fight climate change in historic Paris agreement. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-climate-talks-20151212-story.html

[2whatcom-blog]

UKIP candidate's Jess Phillips rape 'joke' to be investigated

Police are wanting into remarks by UKIP candidate Carl Benjamin after Labour MP Jess Phillips accused him of malicious communications. Mr Benjamin, who's standing within the European elections, tweeted that he "wouldn't even rape" Ms Phillips. He has refused to apologise for the comment made in 2016, arguing that "any subject can be the subject of a joke." Ms Phillips informed the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme she "cried in the street" after listening to a video by him. She mentioned that till then she "had been putting a brave face on it and pretending that it was all fine and that I could cope". The Birmingham MP has known as for individuals who "promote rape and sexual violence" to have a lifetime ban from working for elected workplace. West Midlands Police mentioned it had acquired a report of malicious communications regarding Ms Phillips. A spokesman mentioned: "Officers have spoken to Ms Phillips and the comments are being investigated to establish if an offence has taken place." The MP for Birmingham Yardley informed Victoria Derbyshire she didn't worry for her bodily security, however nervous for her psychological well being after 1000's of messages from Twitter customers attacking her within the final yr alone. "Sometimes I would rather someone punch me in the face than the constant degradation you suffer as a woman in the public eye," she mentioned. "It is constant, it constantly belittles you, it makes you blame yourself." On Mr Benjamin, she mentioned she couldn't perceive how an individual who wrote the feedback on-line was allowed to run to be an MEP. "It was one thing when he was just some idiot off the internet with a load of bros following him," she mentioned. "It's a totally different factor when he's standing on the identical platforms that I'm standing on, that he'll doubtlessly go to a Parliament himself as an elected consultant when he has mentioned these items. "I simply can not imagine our system is so weak in the mean time that that is allowed to occur."

What disqualifies you from standing as an MEP?

To have the ability to stand as a candidate in a European election within the UK, you should be not less than 18 on the day of your nomination, and be both a British or Irish citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen, or a citizen of every other member state of the European Union resident within the UK or Gibraltar. Nevertheless, you can't stand if: Supply: Electoral Fee Ms Phillips has spoken out on behalf of rape and home violence victims in Parliament, and labored for the charity Girls's Help. Mr Benjamin made the preliminary feedback in reply to a tweet from her about rape and demise threats despatched to girls on-line. His tweet, which mentioned, "I would not even rape you... feminism is most cancers," has since been deleted. The MEP candidate for the South West refused to apologise for the submit at information convention in London final month, accusing media retailers of "smearing" him. In a video posted later that month - additionally now deleted - he mentioned: "There was lots of speak about whether or not I'd or would not rape Jess Phillips. I suppose with sufficient strain I would cave, however let's be sincere, no person's acquired that a lot beer." Mr Benjamin informed Buzzfeed Information it was humour, including: "Any topic might be the topic of a joke. The choice is a world devoid of humour, the important software we use to cut back the horror of occasions which might be past our management." Ms Phillips mentioned she broke down within the centre of Birmingham after listening to the video. Members of UKIP's Swindon department mentioned Mr Benjamin had solely joined the native occasion just lately and he ought to be deselected. However the occasion's chief, Gerard Batten, defended his candidate, describing him as a "classical liberal" whose message had been "satirical" in nature. The programme contacted Mr Benjamin for remark, however he didn't return its request. Observe the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme on Fb and Twitter - and see extra of our tales right here. Read the full article

[ralphmorgan-blog1]

Record-breaking crowds at huge Eid party

Image copyright GLMCC

Image caption Tens of thousands of people gathered in Birmingham's Small Heath Park on Friday to mark Eid

As millions of Muslims around the world celebrate Eid, Birmingham is hosting Europe's largest event with more than 140,000 people gathering in Small Heath Park.

Now in its seventh year, Celebrate Eid marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

The huge celebration in Birmingham is organised by Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre (GLMCC) in the city and includes global delicacies, a bazaar and a funfair.

Eid, which means "festival of breaking the fast", is a religious holiday and a day of celebrations when Muslims will give thanks to Allah and exchange small gifts and cards.

Image copyright GLMCC

Image caption Eid al-Fitr is one of the most important Muslim festivals in the Islamic calendar

Image caption The celebration marks the end of Ramadan, which is the holy month of fasting

Image copyright PA

Image caption The event has seen record-breaking crowds attending this year, up on the 106,000 last year, the GLMCC said

Image caption Swedish National Nordin Tejeur, 44, who lives in Birmingham, said: “The festival is getting bigger every year”

Image caption Worshippers of all ages came together for morning prayers, before enjoying the festivities

Image caption The event has fairground rides, miniature golf and laser clay pigeon shooting, as well as food and drink from local food stalls

Image caption This family from Yardley, Birmingham, enjoyed palm-themed flavoured ices at the festival

Image copyright GLMCC

Image caption A spokesman for GLMCC said: "We've been working for months with five local mosques and our charity partner Human Appeal to organise the community for a memorable day of prayer, games and fun"

Image copyright PA

Image caption "This celebration is one of the most important in the Islamic religious calendar and it's an opportunity for us all to come together in peace and unity," the spokesman added

Image copyright GLMCC

Image caption The event has grown in popularity since it started in 2011, when 12,000 people attended

Image caption Meanwhile, hundreds of people have gathered for the first time in Middlesbrough's Albert Park to begin Eid celebrations...

Image caption ...as well as in Bristol

A spokesman for the Birmingham event said: "We're all overwhelmed that so many people from different faiths and from across the world have travelled to Birmingham for this year's Celebrate Eid."

Related Topics

Birmingham

Eid al-Fitr

Small Heath

Original Article : HERE ; This post was curated & posted using : RealSpecific

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  Record-breaking crowds at huge Eid party was originally posted by A 18 MOA Top News from around

[narcisbolgor-blog]

Record-breaking crowds at huge Eid party

Image copyright GLMCC

Image caption Tens of thousands of people gathered in Birmingham's Small Heath Park on Friday to mark Eid

As millions of Muslims around the world celebrate Eid, Birmingham is hosting Europe's largest event with more than 140,000 people gathering in Small Heath Park.

Now in its seventh year, Celebrate Eid marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

The huge celebration in Birmingham is organised by Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre (GLMCC) in the city and includes global delicacies, a bazaar and a funfair.

Eid, which means "festival of breaking the fast", is a religious holiday and a day of celebrations when Muslims will give thanks to Allah and exchange small gifts and cards.

Image copyright GLMCC

Image caption Eid al-Fitr is one of the most important Muslim festivals in the Islamic calendar

Image caption The celebration marks the end of Ramadan, which is the holy month of fasting

Image copyright PA

Image caption The event has seen record-breaking crowds attending this year, up on the 106,000 last year, the GLMCC said

Image caption Swedish National Nordin Tejeur, 44, who lives in Birmingham, said: “The festival is getting bigger every year”

Image caption Worshippers of all ages came together for morning prayers, before enjoying the festivities

Image caption The event has fairground rides, miniature golf and laser clay pigeon shooting, as well as food and drink from local food stalls

Image caption This family from Yardley, Birmingham, enjoyed palm-themed flavoured ices at the festival

Image copyright GLMCC

Image caption A spokesman for GLMCC said: "We've been working for months with five local mosques and our charity partner Human Appeal to organise the community for a memorable day of prayer, games and fun"

Image copyright PA

Image caption "This celebration is one of the most important in the Islamic religious calendar and it's an opportunity for us all to come together in peace and unity," the spokesman added

Image copyright GLMCC

Image caption The event has grown in popularity since it started in 2011, when 12,000 people attended

Image caption Meanwhile, hundreds of people have gathered for the first time in Middlesbrough's Albert Park to begin Eid celebrations...

Image caption ...as well as in Bristol

A spokesman for the Birmingham event said: "We're all overwhelmed that so many people from different faiths and from across the world have travelled to Birmingham for this year's Celebrate Eid."

Related Topics

Birmingham

Eid al-Fitr

Small Heath

Original Article : HERE ; This post was curated & posted using : RealSpecific

=> *********************************************** See Full Article Here: Record-breaking crowds at huge Eid party ************************************ =>

Record-breaking crowds at huge Eid party was originally posted by Viral News - Feed

[backyardnomads-blog]

 “Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.”

~ Unknown

Port Moody, British Columbia is located about 20.4kms which is about a forty minutes drive from downtown Vancouver. Tucked between inter-cities Burnaby & Coquitlam, British Columbia,  Port Moody is considered the smallest city within the Metro Vancouver area!  It has become a welcome haven for visitors & locals alike from the hectic bustle of the surrounding metropolis with its scenic waterfront & mountain views. During the summers, it definitely comes alive with live music, festivals, outdoor patios, food trucks, boating, & so much more!

  Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi on Pexels.com

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

      1.History. Originally, the land was home to the Squamish and Musqueam bands of the Coast Salish people, however, during the early 1800’s the Pacific coast was slowly colonized by the British through The Hudson Bay Company fur trade. Both the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush (1857) & the Cariboo Gold Rush (1858) brought many men from American territories. This influenced Queen Victoria’s decision to dispatch British Major-General Richard Moody, BC’s first Lieutenant-Governor in 1859, with the mission of reinforcing British control & establishing New Westminster, the colony’s first capital city, located by the Fraser River.

Additionally, Queen Victoria also sent Royal Engineers of the British Army to clear a trail, later known as the North Road, from Burrard Inlet at Port Moody to New Westminster in order to provide easy military access against any possible American invasion.

But it wasn’t until 1886 that Port Moody quickly expanded into a city after The Canadian Pacific Railway Company completed the transcontinental railway line linking Montreal, Quebec to Port Moody, British Columbia. This brought settlers to the West & in 1913 Port Moody was officially named a city.

Today, visitors can visit The Port Moody Station Museum near Rocky Point Park to learn more about the Railway’s historical significance in the city’s development!

  Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Pexels.com

Photo by Rakesh Naidu on Pexels.com

2. Arts & Music. Find upcoming events at the City’s Arts & Culture Events website.  The Arts Centre is a great spot especially for artists, families, musicians, and those who enjoy crafts! If you’re staying for several weeks, there are variety of programs you can register to join like children’s summer camps, music lessons, painting, ceramics, & photography. If you can only stay for a few days, be sure to come see one of their gallery exhibitions.

3. Activities for Rainy Days. For family movie buffs, The Inlet Theatre can be a terrific way to spend the afternoon with free family friendly shows Wednesdays at 2:00pm (it is first come, first served). For hot summer days, stop by the Community Public Library where there are weekly children’s activities, Adult book clubs, & cozy spots to simply read.

4. Parks & Mountains. If you’re a nature lover than you will definitely enjoy the great variety Port Moody offers with its scenic trails, picnic areas, & scenic surroundings!

Probably the most famous is The Rocky Point Park located downtown. It is a fantastic spot for families with a spray park (free), outdoor pool, skateboard area, playground, dock area, & walking paths. There are also trails stretching along the shoreline for running, biking, or walking. Additionally, with a boat launch many visitors set out for a day out on the water from this point, which makes for a great view from shore. Finally, stop by for Pajo’s Fish & Chips & Rocky Point Ice Cream for refreshing treats & delicious meals!

For great waterfront views & outdoor adventure, take a short fifteen minute drive north to The Belcarra Park for fishing, crab fishing, hiking along the Springboard Trail & Sasamat Lake Loop, boating, & swimming at Buntzen lake or Sasamat Lake. Next enjoy a leisurely lunch at one of the picnic facilities. You might also try out the Admiralty Point Trails that has spectacular views along the shoreline with several areas to stop and soak in those views of the clear greenish blue water & surrounding landscape. Belcarra is a well loved spot for locals, in fact Belcarra was fittingly called “a little piece of paradise” by the Vancouver Sun (Bramham, 2011).

  5. Breweries. Whether you’re relaxing after a day hiking or out on the water, Port Moody’s Brewers Row located at Murray Street is the perfect place to visit! Situated on the same street you can easily sample a taste from each one of Port Moody’s finest craft breweries: Moody Ales,  The Parkside Brewery, Yellow Dog Brewing Co., & Twin Sails Brewing. Each brewery celebrates unique craft beers which reflect their passion for quality & flavor.

Read More about “The BC Ale Micro-Trail”!

  Visit Burnaby! 

With SO MUCH TO DO your family will never get board!

Try out: Classic Steam Train, Burnaby Village Museum, Capilano Suspension Bridge, Chinese Garden, Casino, Grouse Mountain Tramway, Cruises, Hells Gate Air Tram, Lynn Canyon Park, & MORE!

    6. Accommodations. Why not stay a few days at Port Moody? With its quick access to downtown Vancouver & neighboring Burnaby, this is a great option for travelers! Depending on your style, you may prefer Bed & Breakfasts, of which Port Moody has some lovely options available for you to choose from. Here are our top four suggestions: Mainstay Oasis Bed & Breakfast, The Beach House on Alderside, At the Beach Retreat, & Nature’s Door Bed & Breakfast. For those who would rather stay at a hotel, we would suggest you check out Coquitlam’s Executive Plaza Hotel Metro Vancouver.

  Photo by Eric Sanman on Pexels.com

7. Campgrounds & RV Parks. We love camping during the summer months, not only because its budget friendly, but honestly we just can’t get enough of the outdoor experience! But finding campgrounds with open spaces can be one of the most frustrating & tricky parts of the experience, especially in high tourist areas like Vancouver during the summertime! (If you can call ahead & reserve your spot before arriving, better yet book it days or weeks ahead, it will save you a world of time & peace of mind). One place close to Port Moody is: Anmore Camp & RV Park. CHECK OUT: Travel British Columbia. This website offers a more comprehensive list of locations for camping, lodging, RV-ing, cabins, yurt tents, & more!

  Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Photo by Calebe Miranda on Pexels.com

8. Restaurants. If you’re a fan of Tacos, then be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the amazing The Truckeria Food Truck (Tuesdays @ The Parkside Brewery & Wednesdays @ Yellow Dog Brewing Co.; Or follow them on Instagram for their daily locations). For a more sit-down experience, try out Taps & Tacos Restaurant! Other yummy local eats include: Spacca Napoli , Mega Donaire, & Henry’s Kitchen Pasta & Grill (2410 St Johns street). We haven’t forgotten about dessert…stop by Gabi & Jules Handmade Pies!!

  Photo by Igor Starkov on Pexels.com

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Photo by Fabrizio Verrecchia on Pexels.com

9. Transportation. With so much to explore, driving around can take up a lot of time just getting through Vancouver’s traffic, construction, & finding parking.  Although, this might be the most viable option for you, Port Moody makes it easy to skip the traffic with its SkyTrain! Simply jump on the Millennium Line’s Evergreen Extension at Port Moody & sit back as the automated transit system takes you downtown Vancouver within 30-40 minutes! You can buy the Compass Cards & Tickets at any SkyTrain, SeaBus, London Drug Stores, & West Coast Express Stations. You can also buy online or call 604-398-2042. The Translink website also provides useful information regarding biking, bus schedules, driving, & MUCH MORE!

    We hope that this guide has been helpful for your planning!

If you know of other great ideas or places to visit throughout the Port Moody or Vancouver areas, please let us know! We are always eager to try out new adventures & discover new travel places!

        Sources:

Bramham, Daphne. “Belcarra: A Little Piece of Paradise.” Www.vancouversun.com, Vancouver Sun, 18 Aug. 2011, http://www.vancouversun.com/Belcarra little piece paradise/5109910/story.html.

“Canadian Pacific Railway .” UBC Library Chung Collection, The University of British Columbia, chung.library.ubc.ca/collection-themes/canadian-pacific-railway/canadian-pacific-railway.

“New Westminster History .” Tourism New Westminster, 2016, http://www.tourismnewwestminster.com/about-new-westminster/history/.

“I. Vancouver Before It Was.” The Story of Vancouver, Vancouver Historical Society, 8 May 2017, http://www.vancouver-historical-society.ca/blog/introduction/i-vancouver-before-it-was/.

Yardley , Carollyne. “The Cariboo Gold Rush Overview and Historical Map.” The Cariboo Gold Rush Barkerville Section, 30 Nov. 1998, http://www.cariboogoldrush.com/intro.htm.

    Port Moody, British Columbia is located about 20.4kms which is about a forty minutes drive from downtown Vancouver. Tucked between inter-cities Burnaby & Coquitlam, British Columbia,  Port Moody is considered the smallest city within the Metro Vancouver area!  It has become a welcome haven for visitors & locals alike from the hectic bustle of the surrounding metropolis with its scenic waterfront & mountain views. During the summers, it definitely comes alive with live music, festivals, outdoor patios, food trucks, boating, & so much more! Check It Out!  “Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.” ~ Unknown Port Moody, British Columbia is located about 20.4kms which is about a forty minutes drive from downtown Vancouver.

[ericfruits]

How online campaigning is influencing Britain’s election

SUMATRA ROAD, in north-west London, is a heavily canvassed street. It lies in the marginal constituency of Hampstead and Kilburn, which Labour won in 2015 by little more than 1,000 votes, and is a convenient half-hour Tube journey from Parliament. Its residents are used to spending the weeks before elections traipsing to and from their front doors to receive petitions from politicians of all stripes.

This year a different sort of campaign is being waged, away from this corridor of red-brick terraces. Digital electioneering, in which political parties buy adverts that target users of social media, was first used on a large scale in Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential bid. Since then it has grown. Dominic Cummings, who was campaign director for Vote Leave ahead of the Brexit referendum, has said that 98% of the campaign’s money was spent on digital advertising. Labour aims to spend £1m ($1.3m) on it in this year’s election, having been outspent by the Tories last time. Most of the ads are placed with Facebook; some are bought on YouTube, owned by Google.

Political ads can be targeted with high precision using the personal data held by social networks, allowing canvassers to pick and choose whom they talk to: parents, pensioners or Economist readers. Best for Britain, which is campaigning for the country to stay in the European Union, has sent an ad to people aged 20-31 who live in the constituencies of Birmingham Yardley, Wimbledon and South West Norfolk. The public appears wary of this kind of digital canvassing. In a survey of American voters in 2012, 85% said they would be angry if they found out that “Facebook was sending me ads for political candidates based on my profile information”—which it does.

“A good deal of the anxiety and fear is down to opacity,” says Martin Moore, director of the Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power at King’s College London. “It would be much easier to apply election principles and laws if we knew what was being communicated, to whom, and how much it cost.” Elizabeth Denham, Britain’s information commissioner, who enforces data-protection rules, announced on May 17th that she would open an investigation into the use of data analytics for political purposes.

How sinister is it really? Sam Jeffers, who runs a digital marketing consultancy called The Shop and has advised the Labour Party, is sceptical. He points out that even large companies are not very good at targeted, data-driven advertising—as anyone who has been chased around the internet by the spectre of a fridge they bought the previous week can attest. “Big companies are spending hundreds of millions a year on their marketing and aren’t doing it very well,” says Mr Jeffers. Why would political parties be able to do it any better? “You’re expecting organisations on a month’s notice with £1m to do things that are persuasive and accurate,” he says.

Beyond the invasive profiling, there are other features of online canvassing that have got people worried. The first is that online messages can be sent farther and faster than in the offline world. “The web is frictionless,” says Kate Klonick of Yale Law School, who has spent the past year studying how free speech, including political campaigning, works on Facebook.

And unlike conventional political ads and leaflets, online messages can be tailored to each recipient. They are thus harder to inspect—especially because the largest platforms on the web, including Facebook and YouTube, do not work with third-party researchers or journalists who want to observe political parties’ campaign messaging. Unlike Sumatra Road, which any politician or hack can plod in search of votes or stories, Facebook is a maze of virtual streets in which parties can campaign with little scrutiny.

Precise demographic targeting has upsides. Digital canvassing offers a way to send people information relevant to them: before the deadline for registering to vote on May 22nd, Labour sent young people videos (featuring cats) urging them to sign up. Targeting like this could help to raise interest in politics at a time when turnout is low. It can, however, be used to achieve the opposite effect. Donald Trump’s strategists admitted to using targeted online adverts to demoralise supporters of Hillary Clinton into not voting. An animation entitled “Hillary Thinks African-Americans are Super Predators” was sent to groups of black voters via Facebook, calculated to prevent them from turning out. “Only the people we want to see it, see it,” Brad Parscale, Mr Trump’s digital canvasser, told Bloomberg at the time.

As targeted advertising makes it possible for parties to offer different things to different voters, there is a risk that they will make promises that are mutually inconsistent. Conflicting promises can be easily masked from different groups. This may blind voters to the compromises of politics, eventually eroding trust. Finer targeting may also be a problem in light of research from America which shows that targeted messaging has led to more extreme party positions regarding religion.

The Electoral Commission, which regulates campaigns in Britain, requires details of campaign spending to be kept, but does not require the content of online or offline messaging to be recorded. (When asked, the Conservatives did not show The Economist any of the digital ads they had sent, nor the logic behind their targeting. Labour provided a small sample.) A few third parties are on the case. Mr Jeffers has built a piece of software called Who Targets Me that offers to monitor the social media feeds of concerned voters.

On Sumatra Road, political signs and posters decorate gardens and windows. The public displays of political loyalty, and the canvassing done in the open, are in contrast to the battery of private messages that are simultaneously reaching residents via their computers and smartphones. As Britons go to the polls, each has been the recipient of a sometimes widely contrasting series of political messages. In future, victory will belong to whichever party can master the art of waging tens of millions of minutely personalised campaigns.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "A fresh canvass"

http://ift.tt/2rlniXm

[gyrlversion]

How officers came knocking at the door of a devout Catholic

As a schoolgirl, Caroline Farrow relished discussing politics and current affairs around the kitchen table with her family. 

Her parents, both teachers, encouraged robust debate and Caroline and her elder sister were precociously well informed. 

‘Freedom of speech and expression was drummed into us from an early age,’ she says.

She was ten in 1984, a landmark year when George Orwell’s vision of a totalitarian future was revisited and reappraised. 

Catholic journalist Caroline Farrow, 44, was told by Surrey Police that she had to attend an interview under caution or face arrest after she used the wrong pronoun to describe a transgender woman

Her father explained the novel’s concepts of Big Brother, Newspeak and the Thought Police, and Caroline was fascinated. 

‘But I remember thinking at the time that none of it could ever come true,’ she says.

Now 44, and a trenchant Catholic journalist, priest’s wife and occasional TV commentator, Mrs Farrow was reminded of Orwellian themes last Monday when, in the middle of preparing dinner for her husband Robin and five children, a policewoman rang her at home with a startling demand.

Mrs Farrow was told she must attend an interview under caution or face arrest because she had used the wrong pronoun to describe a transgender woman.

Suddenly the dystopia described in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four began to feel all too real. Scarcely able to absorb what she was hearing, she felt, in sharp succession, disbelief, fear and anger.

Anger because Mrs Farrow herself had been the victim of a cyber stalking campaign which, at its vile worst, made her fear for her family’s safety – but which, she says, police failed to take seriously.

‘It’s double standards. When the complaint involves the word transgender, police leap into action,’ she says. ‘Something has gone terribly wrong in this country.’

In the event, the four-month Surrey Police investigation into Mrs Farrow, which prompted much controversy last week when made public, was hastily dropped as it hurtled towards full-blown fiasco.

Following a TV debate with Susie Green, the head of trans rights charity Mermaids, Mrs Farrow later called Ms Green’s daughter Jackie (pictured) ‘him’ instead of ‘her’ on Twitter and said Mermaids promoted child abuse

Critics called the probe a waste of time and money at a time when officers are struggling with high levels of knife crime.

The roots of the sorry affair appear to lie in a TV debate. Mrs Farrow, known for her deeply held religious views, and Susie Green, the head of trans rights charity Mermaids, clashed on ITV’s Good Morning Britain about Girl Guides allowing children who have changed gender to join the organisation. 

Mrs Farrow later called Ms Green’s daughter Jackie ‘him’ instead of ‘her’ on Twitter and said Mermaids promoted child abuse.

Five weeks later, Ms Green complained to police.

One of Mrs Farrow’s tweets read: ‘What she did to her own son [the youngest person in the world to undergo transgender surgery] is illegal. 

She mutilated him by having him castrated and rendered sterile while still a child.’

Many might consider Mrs Farrow’s choice of words unpleasant but she is unapologetic. 

She says: ‘I deliberately used the words castration and mutilation to shock because what happens is shocking. I was trying to bring home the harsh reality of what she [Ms Green] did.’

Jackie Green, who was born male and was once known as Jack, began taking puberty-blockers at 12, and went to Thailand aged 16 for reassignment surgery, which is now illegal for under-18s.

Whatever one feels about the tweet’s tone, Mrs Farrow is convinced most right-minded people would agree it wasn’t criminal. 

As anger surfaced, Mrs Farrow was left facing a tirade of abuse on social media which made her fear for her family’s safety

‘Yes, it was strong language but I wanted to make people sit up. I wanted to get the country talking about this. So much is changing in our society. 

‘The notion of what it is to be a woman or a mother is being erased and rewritten by zealots. People are too scared to question what is going on. The tweets might possibly be spiteful but they were not intended to cause alarm or distress.’

Which is why Mrs Farrow was stunned to receive the phone call from the police officer on Monday as she juggled preparing a meal of gammon, roast potatoes and vegetables for her children – aged between four and 14 – with overseeing homework and music practice. 

The message left on her voicemail said: ‘Hello there, I’m calling from Guildford police station… I need to have a chat with you about some tweets that have been sent.’

Mrs Farrow says: ‘My husband said, ‘You know it’s bound to be the trans stuff, you have been talking about this a lot lately and you know the lobbyists are looking to get you.’ ‘

She spoke to the officer later that night. ‘I pointed out that ‘misgendering’ wasn’t a crime and that as a Catholic I believed that sex could not be changed. 

I explained that the country is in the middle of an ongoing national conversation about sex and gender, what it means to be male and female, and I was contributing to that in a professional capacity.’

The officer reiterated that the CPS had ‘authorised us to bring you in for a taped interview’. 

That night, managing only an hour’s sleep, Mrs Farrow tried to make sense of what was happening. Naturally she feared the worst. Who would look after the children if she went to jail? She would be destroyed. Her husband would lose his job.

The following morning, Mrs Farrow instructed a solicitor. She says: ‘My lawyer said it seemed politically motivated but thought the case would be thrown out. 

‘He warned that I was likely to face a tough interview. What was happening felt so unjust, especially as over the past few months I have endured an unimaginable campaign of harassment, targeting not only me, but my entire family.’

A very PC force’s links to trans charity 

Flying the flag: Inspector David Harland calls himself a ‘trans ally’

Susie Green’s powerful transgender lobby group has forged close links with a police force behind a series of hate crime investigations.

West Yorkshire Police launched probes into an award-winning TV writer, a mother of four and a transsexual man following complaints from Mermaids.

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the force received ‘training sessions’ from Mermaids, which supports medical intervention for transgender children.

West Yorkshire Police has promoted Mermaids’ work, tweeting one of its leaflets. 

Mermaids has also advised Merseyside Police, NHS staff, social workers, the Scouts and student nurses.

One West Yorkshire officer, Inspector David Harland, declared himself on social media to be a ‘trans ally’, adding that he was dedicated to ‘doing all I can for the trans community’.

In February last year, West Yorkshire sent officers to Wiltshire to investigate a mother of four following a complaint by Ms Green.

Echoing the Caroline Farrow case, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull was questioned on suspicion of a malicious communications offence after Ms Green reported her for tweeting that Ms Green had illegally ‘castrated’ her ‘son’ by allowing him to have sex change surgery in Thailand at 16.

In April 2018, the force received another complaint, this time from Mermaid volunteer Helen Islan.

She claimed that transsexual Miranda Yardley, who has had gender reassignment surgery, had ‘outed’ Ms Islan’s transgender son by tweeting a picture of Ms Islan with her family, which included the child. West Yorkshire referred this incident to police in Essex, where Ms Yardley lives.

In a third case, West Yorkshire officers gave Graham Linehan, co-creator of the hit TV comedy Father Ted, a verbal harassment warning when transgender activist Stephanie Hayden reported him for referring to her as ‘he’ on Twitter.

A force spokeswoman said it was ‘committed to ensuring that anyone who feels targeted due to race, sexual orientation, religion, disability or gender identity is listened to’.

It should be noted that her stalkers were motivated not by her views on transgender issues but in part by the tragic case of Alfie Evans, the baby at the centre of a legal battle last year over turning off his life support. 

It was a morally fraught case that aroused fierce debate, and Mrs Farrow joined the global campaign to keep him alive.

Mrs Farrow often comments on social issues and her deeply held conservative religious views have made her many enemies on social media. 

Incensed by her intervention, opponents set up a blog solely for the purpose of attacking the journalist and her family.

On May 3 last year, five days after Alfie’s death, a Twitter account posted a link to her home address with the sinister message: ‘If anyone fancies having a chat with the illustrious Mrs Farrow…’ 

Even more distressing, someone posted a link to her children’s school.

Many of the abusive messages were sexually degrading, referencing her Catholic faith. 

At one stage, trolls warned that their ‘agents’ were on their way to her village. Some of the most upsetting attacks involved her children and comments made about their appearance. Mrs Farrow says there were even attempts at extortion.

‘I was ordered to delete all my social-media accounts and pay the LGBT lobby group Stonewall £1,000 if I wanted the blog to cease operation. 

‘They also got hold of our email addresses and set up accounts with pornographic websites in our name, and pictures. I had to cancel an order for £772 of sex toys.’

On January 8 – more than two months after Mrs Farrow made a formal complaint to police – one of the suspected trolls was questioned. But Mrs Farrow was later told no action would be taken.

‘I felt really let down. I have suffered so much with this, my mental health has deteriorated and I told the officer that this is the sort of thing that drives people to suicide. I was being hyperbolic, but then things turned nasty.

‘The policeman said he needed to report me to social services because I said I was suicidal. Social services called a few weeks later and after chatting to me said I was fine and they would not take it further. 

‘Yet Susie Green makes a spurious complaint and, bingo, the police are straight on to me.’

Surrey Police said Mrs Farrow’s claims of harassment were fully investigated but ‘we were unable to find evidence that meets the threshold for criminal proceedings’.

Last Tuesday, the Farrows’ 14-year-old daughter had a starring role in a school recital. Mrs Farrow says: ‘I knew I was going to have to tell her [about the police interview] but I waited until after her concert. 

‘She burst into tears at the idea that I could face jail, but regained composure when I said that it was highly unlikely.

‘I felt so guilty having to burden her with it and taint such a wonderful evening for her but I also knew that it wouldn’t be fair for her to find out from friends.’

The next day, Ms Green withdrew her complaint because she said she did not want to give Mrs Farrow a public ‘platform’. Instead of contacting police, she announced her decision on a television show.

Mrs Farrow believes police are only too willing to appease Ms Green and Mermaids, which she thinks is looking for a test case to codify misgendering into law. 

Hers is not the first transgender ‘hate crime’ police have pursued. So far none of them have ended with a successful prosecution.

‘Orwell’s novel was a cautionary tale and an example of why we always need to be thankful for and guard our freedoms,’ says Mrs Farrow. ‘I never once envisaged I would face jail for refusing to state that man cannot be woman.’

Surrey Police said: ‘We requested Caroline Farrow attend a voluntary interview to understand her intent in relation to the tweets. Details of this invitation were publicly shared and there has been criticism of our decision to investigate.

‘We have been in contact with both parties as we have a duty of care towards both, and there was concern for their welfare as a result of publicity. 

The victim will withdraw her allegation and has explained her reasoning. Without the support of the victim, it’s unlikely a criminal case could be brought.’

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[hungrybroke]

How to find free or reduced price food

Please share this guide widely so it can reach the people who need it most! Message me if you have other suggestions/edits for the list too. Thanks all and let's keep fighting food insecurity together!

Email: goodfoodforwho@gmail.com | Twitter and Instagram: @goodfoodforwho

Contents

Central London

South London

North London

East London

West London

Rough sleepers

If you know a rough sleeper, or you yourself are sleeping rough, please get in touch with Streetlink to connect up with local services via the Streetlink website.

Apps

Olio - food sharing app which shows where food is available. People post up any spare food they have. In most cases, it is given away for free.

Too Good to Go - food sharing app which shows free or reduced price food from food businesses.

UK Soup kitchens/food charity cafes/foodwaste events

Foodcycle - charity based in hubs up and down the country. They collect food waste from different retailers and cook it into a 2-3 course meal. Mealtimes vary by location - check their website for more information.

Community fridges - fridges dotted around the country sharing surplus food.

Soup kitchens - lists of soup kitchens and their opening times across the UK

Disco Soups AKA Feeding the 5000 - Events where surplus food from farms and bakeries is cooked up into a big free meal. They are currently run on an ad-hoc basis by community groups or individuals (worth googling “disco soup” from time to time), sometimes organised by Feedback (see link above to their events page).

Map http://bit.ly/hungryandbrokemap

ENGLAND

London

Next Meal - website which finds the nearest London soup kitchen to you.

Central London

Foodcycle Marylebone - St Paul’s Church, 5 Rossmore Road, London NW1 6NJ. Serving dinner every Wednesday at 6.30pm.

St Luke’s Community fridge - 90 Central St, London EC1V 8AJ, UK. Anyone can help themselves to food on Thursdays and Fridays between 3.30-4.30pm.

Food for all SOAS - by the entrance of SOAS University. All year round, free hot indian meals Monday - Saturday 12.15pm - 2.30pm.

Food for all LSE - by LSE’s campus, between St Clements and the Old Building. Only during term time, free hot indian meals, Monday - Saturday 12.15pm -2.30pm.

Hare Krishna Food for Life Lincolns Inn Fields - Lincolns Inn Fields, WC2. Free indian food, Monday to Thursday, 7.15pm-8pm

AMURT - Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Holborn WC2. Free, hot, freshly prepared, vegetarian food every Thursday at 6.15pm.

South London

Feast and film - The Venue on the Doddington & Rollo Estate, Battersea Park Road, Battersea, London SW11 5JE. A community event held on the first Friday of every month. Free film and meal made from surplus food from New Covent Garden Market.

The People’s Fridge - Pop Brixton, 49 Brixton Station Road SW9 8PQ. Anyone can help themselves to food Monday-Thursday 9am-7pm, Friday-Sunday 9am-5pm

Brixton Soup Kitchen - Brixton Dominoes Community Centre 297-299 Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8RP. Serving hot lunch every day. There is also a food bank, a clothes bank, a weekly reading group called Book at Breakfast, the Thursday Legal Evening and several other regular training & advice gatherings.

Foodcycle Lewisham - London Irish Community Centre, 2A Davenport Road SE6 2AZ. Serving a three course lunch every Saturday at 1.15pm

Foodcycle Peckham - All Saints Church Hall, Blenheim Grove, Peckham SE15 4QS. Serving a three course dinner every Saturday from 5.30 - 7pm.

Community fridge Camberwell - Allbrighton Community centre, Albrighton Rd, London SE22 8AH.

North London

Muswell Hill Soup Kitchen - 2 Dukes Ave, London N10 2PT. A soup kitchen serving a 2 course meal, open five evenings a week, Sunday through Thursday. Doors open 7.45-8.30pm (on Sundays 5-6pm)

Radha-Krishna Temple Kentish Town - Caversham Road, beside Barclays bank, Kentish town, NW5 2DS. Free hot meals, Monday to Saturday, 12pm-12.55pm.

Radha-Krishna Temple Camden Town - Inverness street, beside veg market, Camden town, NW1 7HJ. Free hot meals, Monday to Saturday, 1pm-1.50pm.

Radha-Krishna Temple Kings Cross - York Way, beside the train station N1 9AA. Free hot meals, Monday to Saturday, 2pm-2.30pm.

Foodcycle Finsbury Park - Andover community centre/Finsbury Park Community Hub, Corker Walk N7 7RY. Serving a three course lunch every Saturday afternoon at 1pm.

Foodcycle Islington - Southwood Smith Centre, 11 Southwood Smith Street N1 0YL. Serving lunch every Wednesday at 1pm.

Community fridge Hackney - The Redmond Community Centre, Kayani Ave, Woodberry Down, London N4 2HF. Anyone can help themselves to food between 9am-9pm every day.

Haringey Migrant Support Centre - Haringey Migrant Support Centre, c/o St. John Vianney Church, 386 West Green Road, Tottenham, N15 3QL. Open to migrants on Mondays - they cook up a hot meal to share.

St Peter de Beauvoir - St Peter’s Church, Northchurch Terrace, De Beauvoir Town London N1 4DA. From January to March, the church opens as a homeless shelter and provides a healthy home-cooked meal at night and a cooked breakfast in the morning.

East London

The People’s Kitchen - Weavers Adventure Playground, Viaduct street, Bethnal Green, London E2 0BH - Pay what you feel buffet feasts. Join in with the cooking from 2-6pm or just come and eat 6-7.30pm. First Sunday of the month and 2nd to last Sunday of the month. Check out their website for details.

Made in Hackney - Made In Hackney Local Food Kitchen, Food For All Basement, 3 Cazenove Rd, London, N16 6PA (and other kitchens around London - see their website for details). A community kitchen teaching seasonal, plant-based classes across Hackney. Spend an afternoon/evening learning how to cook healthy, delicious meals and then tuck in to the meal with the rest of your class. Recommended £5 donation/free.

Foodcycle Dalston - Mildmay community centre, Woodville road, Mayville Estate N16 8NA. Serving lunch every Monday at 1.30pm FOR WOMEN AND BABIES ONLY.

Foodcycle Hackney - New Kingshold Community Centre, 49 Ainsworth Road E9 7JE. Serving lunch every Thursday at 12.30pm.

North London Action for the Homeless - St Paul’s Church, West Hackney, 182 Stoke Newington Road N16 7UY. Free three course vegetarian meal every Monday lunch 12-1.30pm and Wednesday supper 7-8.30pm.

Redmond community centre supper club - Kayani Avenue, Woodberry Down, N4 2HF. Free and freshly prepared vegan and vegetarian meals every Tuesday at 7.15 - 8.30pm.

West London

Community fridge Cricklewood - 162 Anson Rd, London NW2 6BH

Foodcycle Cricklewood - 60 Ashford Road, NW2 6TU. Serving a three course lunch every Saturday afternoon at 1pm.

Reffetorio Felix - 51 Philbeach Gardens, Earl’s Court, London SW5 9EB. 3 course lunch Monday to Friday. There is also a free shower and laundry facilities, clothes resource, hairdresser, and internet access. In addition, they have an activities programme as well as a visiting nurse practitioner, an alcohol worker and a substance misuse worker.

East of England

Fakenham community fridge - First focus, Oak Street, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 9DY

Costessy Community fridge - West Costessey Hall, Poethlyn Drive, Queen’s Hills, Costessey, Norfolk NR8 5BP

MESH community fridge - Shrublands Youth and Adult centre, Magdalen Way, Gorleston, Norfolk NR31 7BP

Wayland community fridge - The Wayland Partnership, Wayland House, High Street, Watton, Norfolk IP25 6AR

Hampton Court community fridge - Hampton Court, Peterborough PE3 7LD

Foodcycle Peterborough - Park Road Baptist Church, 2 Park Road, Peterborough PE1 2SY. Every Monday from 12.30-2pm.

Cambridge Community fridge - The Edge Cafe, 351 Mill Road, Cambridge, CB1 3DF

Foodcycle Cambridge Arbury project - Arbury Road Baptist Church, Arbury Road, Cambridge CB4 2EJ. Last Thursday of the month at 6.30pm

Foodcycle Cambridge Barnwell project - Barnwell Baptist Church, Howard Road, Cambridge CB5 8QS. 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month at 6pm.

Foodcycle Cambridge Wesley project - Wesley Methodist Church, Christ Pieces, Cambridge CB1 1LG. Every Saturday at 12.30pm

Foodcycle Clacton-on-Sea - Trinity Methodist Church, Pier Avenue, Clacton-on-Sea CO15 1NJ. 3 course meals every Monday at 12.30pm

Foodcycle Norwich Friends Meeting House - Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich NR2 1EW. 3 course meals every Friday at 7pm.

Foodcycle Norwich Future Projects - Baseline Centre, 65-67 Knowland Grove, Norwich NR5 8YD. Last Wednesday of the month at 6.30pm

West of England

Frome Community fridge - Justice Lane, Frome, BA11 1BE. Anyone can help themselves to food from 8am-8pm every day.

Foodcycle Bath - St Mary’s Catholic Church, Julian Road, Bath BA1 2SF. 3 course meals every Wednesday at 7.30pm

FOLK Bristol - Underpass of St James Barton, Bristol city centre. Mondays 2pm.

Foodcycle Bristol - Barton Hill Settlement, 43 Ducie Road, Barton Hill, Bristol, BS5 0AX. Every Saturday at 2.30pm

Foodcycle Exeter - Wonford Community and Learning Centre, Burnthouse Lane, Exeter EX2 6NF. 3 course meal every Tuesday at 6pm

Foodcycle Portsmouth John Pounds Centre - The John Pounds centre, 23 Queen Street, Portsmouth PO1 3HN. 3 course meal every Tuesday at 7pm

Foodcycle Portsmouth King’s Church - King’s Church, Somers Road, Southsea PO5 4QA. 3 course meal every Thursday at 6pm

Midlands

Botley community fridge - P&P Church, 81 West way, Oxford OX2 9LS

Milton Keynes community fridge - The Old Bath House, 205 Stratford Road, Wolverton, Milton Keynes MK12 5LY

Swadlincote Community fridge - 48 Grove street, Swadlincote, DE11 9DD. Anyone can help themselves to food on Monday - Friday 10am-3pm.

Telford Community fridge - Brookside Centre, Burford, Telford TF3 1LP

Foodcycle Birmingham - Birmingham Settlement, 359-361 Witton Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6NS. Every Sunday at 1.30pm

Foodcycle Birmingham South Yardley - South Yardley Methodist Church, Broadyates Road, B25 8JF. Every Tuesday at 7pm.

North of England

Manchester Community fridge - Lansdowne Road, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 9AZ

Foodcycle Manchester (The Roby) - Roby United Reformed Church, 307 Dickenson Road, Manchester, M13 0NG. 3 course meal every Wednesday at 7.30pm.

Sholver and Moorside Community fridge - Sholver and Moorside Community Hub, Sholver lane, Oldham OL1 4NT

Shildon community fridge - Shildon Alive! 15 Church Street, Shildon DL4 1DS

North Tyneside Community fridge - YMCA North Tyneside, Church way, North Shields, NE29 0AB

Foodcycle Chester-le-Street Project -Cornerstones, Chester-le-Street DH3 3TF. 3 course meal every Saturday at 6pm

Foodcycle Durham - Sanctuary 21, 48-49 Saddler Street, Durham DH1 3NU. Every Wednesday at 6pm

Sheffield Community fridge - The Edge, 34 Endcliffe Crescent, Sheffield S10 3ED

Foodcycle Sheffield Firth Park - St Cuthbert’s Church, Barnsley Road, Sheffield. For women every Wednesday at 12pm.

Foodcycle Sheffield Lowedges - Lowedges Community Centre, Gresley Road, Sheffield S8 7HL. Every Wednesday at 4.45pm

Foodcycle Sheffield Sharrow - Cemetery Road Baptist Church, 11 Napier Street, Sheffield S11 8HA. Every Wednesday at 12pm.

Foodcycle Sheffield St Barts - St Bartholomew’s Church Centre, Primrose Hill, Sheffield S6 2UW. Every Wednesday at 12.30pm

Foodcycle Liverpool - St Cleopas Church, 400 Mill Street, Toxteth L8 4RF. 3 course meal every Wednesday at 7pm

SCOTLAND

Social bite Edinburgh Rose Street - 131 Rose street, Edinburgh EH2 3DT . Hot food served in the evenings

Social bite Edinburgh Shandwick place - 89 Shandwick place, Edinburgh EH2 3DT. Hot food served in the evenings

Help 4 the Homeless Glasgow - Cadogan street, Glasgow. Hot meals, snacks, clothes, bedding and basic toiletries. Every Thursday evening from 8pm.

Social bite Glasgow St Vincent Street - 103 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5EA. Hot food served in the evenings

Social bite Glasgow Bothwell Street - 5 Bothwell Street, Glasgow G2 6NL. Free hot food served in the evenings.

Social bite Aberdeen - 516 Union Street, Aberdeen AB10 1TT. Free hot food served in the evenings.

WALES

Food for all - Aberystwyth bus station - Thursdays at 1pm.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Cloughmills Community fridge - 60 Main Street, Cloughmills, Ballymena BT44 9LF

IRELAND

Help 4 the Homeless - outside Molloys Off licence, Grange Cross, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10 every evening except Thursday. At the Ballyfermot Star on Thursday evenings. Providing hot food, soup, sandwiches, coffee and tea, warm clothes and sleeping bags every evening from 8-9pm.

[gidwatch]

New Cross Learning -- "What is Gender" (U.K.) @newxlearning

New Cross Learning — “What is Gender” (U.K.) @newxlearning

New Cross Learning a.k.a. New Cross People’s Library, “a community-run library, writing, arts and IT centre” in London, U.K. was planning to host a panel discussion titled “What is Gender: The Gender Recognition Act and Beyond” featuring panelists Julia Long and Miranda Yardley. (more…)