GRAND THEFT AUTO...

I had to share this with you as it is a piece of genius data analysis. A comparison of car theft crime rates with sales of a video game purported to be one of the factors behind a rise in crime over the same period...

Shoots (pun intended) down those who say video games promote crime.

It comes from an interesting infographic that looks at car crime rates, unfortunately in the US rather than anywhere else, though there is a small section on international rates of car crime. This includes the alarming statistic that 9.7% of all car theft in the world occurs in Britain.

By any measure this is quite a surprise given that Britain's 62.2 million people account for barely 0.1% of the world's entire population. However, our car stock is going to be higher given much of the world doesn't even own one.. leaves the blog to go and find statistics on global car pool..

MAN v CITY..

Let's take a look at the evidence..

Click the video.



This game is, yet again, about a world where things are falling apart.

This game is, yet again, taking the genre further.

This game is, yet again, looking incredible.

This game is, yet again, being developed by Ubisoft.

Watch Dogs.

I rest my case. Ubisoft, by far the most imaginative games designers out there!

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE..

Everybody is aware of personal security when they approach a cash machine these days, perhaps less so when loading the car with groceries at the supermarket or returning to your vehicle in a car park after hours.

But most people use common sense and are prompted by the environment (dark corners, late night car parks) and remain safe. In the cosy surroundings of your home or bed though, things are a little different.

Once you logon to facebook and chat away with friends you loosen up a little. Everybody does. It's natural. So the helpful Veracode blog came up with this brilliant web security infographic..



Infographic by Veracode Application Security

RIOTS...

Well, Saturday night I was sat in Spain around the pool and enjoying the relaxing atmosphere.  Sunday I was vaguely aware of a rumour of trouble in Tottenham that reflected my childhood in a bizarre way; I was 13 in 1981 and remember the TV footage of Toxteth, Brixton and Handsworth in Birmingham.  My son is 13 now and watching the developing crisis with much the same mixture of fear and amazement.  This time he lives in Manchester so it's a little closer to home than my sleepy medium sized town in the east was..

Night four of rioting has just closed with Manchester, Birmingham and - strangely - Gloucester becoming involved.  The footage is quite extra-ordinary on youtube; St Ann's Square being looted for gods sake, parts of the Arndale on fire? cars driving straight at people just protecting their own homes in Birmingham (with a resulting 3 people dead)?

Soon, hopefully soon the British establishment is going to start asking the awkward questions; the political issues beihnd the reason why this has happened beyond the sheer greed of a few young people who have been brought up on a diet of consumerism and having anything they want without having to work or it, and the generation just above theirs; the twenty-somethings who seem to be in denial that it can be anything to do with social structures and is all about the lack of fairness or disgruntlement with the current government?

To me the only real question is, 'what makes the rioters think they can do this?' but then a good friend just asked me if I honestly thought the rioters even thought before acting...

Good point...

What next for this nation that proudly boasts some of the 'highest' low educational achievement in the West?

Hopefully, the British weather has come to the rescue as it has started raining today and nobody likes getting wet - least of all the pathetic, cowardly little kids that have formed a large number of the looters...

Here's hoping...
 

ANY NEWS IS GOOD NEWS?

  

I don't think..

A couple of clips from the news in the last few days..

Nuff said

 

CRIME..

It comes to something when a sad event happens - a very brave man trying to stop a crime happening has been killed in Barking this weekend (story link here) - and the chief of Police makes a statement that, "I would not encourage members of the public do that."

So, now the Police are saying don't try to stop crime in your neighbourhood. Let it happen. We'll detect it afterwards.



Like they do.



Time this country woke up? Time people start speaking up, being counted and being human again rather than just humans simply being (in between episodes of Celebrity I'm Trapped in a House owned by a larger next of kin than me and there's nothing really going on in here on Ice) methinks.

2010 is a year in which I for one have decided to become a little more vocal and more action-led in my life. If you don't like it, step off. Hopefully, others will take a similar line. Otherwise, it might be me or you that's next in line?

[addition: I notice in the days that have followed this story the Police have changed very subtley the press announcements. There is now an announcement by the Metropolitan Police that simply says they support people becoming involved in instances like this, but only when and where their own safety is assured.. It's a welcome start?]

PRISON SENTENCES

A few sentences I found on an unrelated Forum site i was just using to get a spare part number for my car. Not my words, but words to think about and raise debate nonetheless.

>>>I was dismayed the other day to read of Ronnie Biggs' release on compassionate grounds , in the wake of news that the same dispensation is being considered for the Libyan intelligence officer convicted in connection with the Lockerbie bombing

I found the picture of Biggs sitting up and smiling in bed , as his train driver victim lay in his grave , highly offensive .

This completely undermines the judiciary who hand down 'life' sentences and makes a mockery of the whole criminal justice system with no real deterrent against committing serious crimes as criminals can count on being 'let off' eventually .

At least the Germans got it right the other day by handing down a life sentence to a ( edit 90 year old ) former German soldier who was involved in the murder of a number of Italian civilians during the war ( albeit a number of years after an Italian court had found him guilty in absentia of the same charges ) and , at least , in Germany life means life .

In this country the politicians who overturn the judgements of the judiciary should hang their heads in shame as they send out entirely the wrong messages to the criminal fraternity .

Another post said:

>>>.........and televise the sentences being carried out .

Showing a few murderers , rapists , drug dealers etc being hanged , shot , electrocuted , lethally injected ( not neccessarily in that order ) might deter others from offending in the same way .

Likewise , public floggings outside the courthouses for less serious , but still nasty , offenders would be an effective deterrent as well as being less costly to the taxpayer ( giving someone 20 lashes has to be cheaper than even a weekend in jail ) .

So, there we have it. A few sentences. A lot to think about. The way the economy is going I may just go out and 'do a robbery' myself! At least I'll only be gone for a few years before coming out to my ill-gotten gains (if nobody finds them and digs them up first!)

Good job I'm only joking. For now.

DICKS

A long blog but worth it, trust me.

I just read this at PirateBay's website and feel the need to post it here too - from a collection of emails they regularly receive trying to stop them sharing a variety of material with other people on the web (despite pirate bay not having any actual content on their servers whatsoever). But hey! you knew that already. Being a reader of my blog you know all about file sharing don't you? don't you?

It makes the complainant look a right dick.. as well as grey as can be.. which is always welcome in my book:

>Subject: Copyright Claim
>Date: Saturday 15 April 2006 07:12
>From: email1@prophecyhouse.com
>To: tiamo_prq.se
>
>Please acknowledge receipt of this message and that it my claim is being
>addressed:

Uh? Please rephrase that. "that it my"?

>To whom it may concern at PRQ.se,
>
>1. I have placed the words "Copyright Claim" in this message's subject
>line (see above). I personally (Timothy J. Huckabay) am the legal
>copyright holder to the book The AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea
>(registration number TX-4-880-636) AND ALL VIDEOS RELATED TO IT WITH TIM
>COHEN (MY PEN NAME). I am also the owner and President of Prophecy
>House, Inc., which is the publisher of the book AND RELATED VIDEOS; you
>may visit our web site at www.prophecyhouse.com, where the book is
>previewable AND THE VIDEOS ARE SHOWN ON OUR ORDER FORMS, and see our
>order forms here: http://www.prophecyhouse.com/order (make sure you use
>a browser that has JavaScript enabled). THIS EMAIL MESSAGE, WHICH IS
>FROM WWW.PROPHECYHOUSE.COM (PROPHECY HOUSE'S DOMAIN), CONSTITUTES MY
>LEGAL ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE. However, if that is not sufficient, you may
>provide a fax number to me in your response, and I will fax a printed
>copy of this message with my written signature at the bottom of the
>fax. You may also call me directly at Prophecy House to address any
>questions you may have or any further information you feel you may need:
>303-693-6399.

Wow, that's a lot of text to read. You like to brag, don't you? "I am the owner",
"I am the president" and so forth. That's very nice. We don't really care.
I'm the president of my make-believe country The Pirate Islands. Oh, and I'm the
owner of my old Peugeot 205 (1989 year model) as well. Once we filmed that car
while I was driving. I guess I'm the owner of those tapes as well. So we have
ALOT in common! That's nice. But you brag about it, that's so not cool! :(

>ThePirateBay.org has posted and is permitting downloads of an illegal
>electronic version of MY VIDEO ON The AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea at this URL:
>http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3439729

They are? I seriously doubt that they actually posted that torrent. I guess some
of those fellons using that evil site posted it, darn :(

>. You may contact me, the complaining party, here:
>
>Tim Huckabay
>Phone: 303-693-6399 (Prophecy House) or 720-284-7707 (my personal cell
>phone number)
>E-Mail: email1@prophecyhouse.com
>Prophecy House, Inc.
>P.O. Box 461104
>Aurora, CO 80046-1104
>USA

Hey wait a minute, this isn't a Copyright claim now is it? This looks more like
a personal ad! How about checking out some of the local press instead of trying
to pick up people in other continents? Actually, being in different countries
(even on different continents) means that we don't have the same laws here.
You know, in Sweden, it's still legal to do a lot of things. Elks can have sex
with eachother without being prosecuted for instance. And people are allowed
to copy. It's quite natural, both of them, don't you think?

>I, Timothy J. Huckabay, as the legal registered copyright holder of the
>said work (The AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea AND ALL VIDEOS RELATED TO IT
>IN WHICH TIM COHEN / HUCKABAY APPEARS), as the author of the said work
>(under my pen name Tim Cohen), and as the publisher of the said work
>through my company Prophecy House, Inc. (www.prophecyhouse.com), HAVE A
>GOOD FAITH BELIEF THAT USE OF ANY MATERIAL -- TO INCLUDE VIDEOS IN WHICH
>I, TIM HUCKABAY / COHEN, APPEAR -- WHATSOEVER FROM THE ANTICHRIST AND A
>CUP OF TEA (ISBN 0966279301, LCCN 98-84509) BY CONSPIRACYCENTRAL.NET OR
>ANY OTHER PARTY NOT EXPLICITLY AUTHORIZED BY ME AND PROPHECY HOUSE,
>INC., IN WRITING, IS NOT AUTHORIZED AND IS IN FACT ILLEGAL AND A
>VIOLATION OF ALL APPLICABLE COPYRIGHT LAWS GLOBALLY. FURTHERMORE, I
>HAVE A GOOD FAITH BELIEF THAT THEPIRATEBAY.ORG AND PRQ.se, AS THE
>HOSTING SERVICE, ARE BOTH INFRINGING MY LEGAL AND REGISTERED COPYRIGHTS.

You write with big letters, it make my head hurt. Come again, you're sending
us an e-mail telling us how wrong you are?

>ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED BY ME, TIMOTHY J. HUCKABAY, IN THIS EMAIL
>MESSAGE TO PRQ.se IS STATED UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY. I AM THE LEGAL
>AND REGISTERED COPYRIGHT HOLDER AND OWNER OF THE ANTICHRIST AND A CUP OF
>TEA BOOK AND ALL MATERIALS RELATED TO IT, TO INCLUDE VIDEOS, DVDS, CDS,
>ETC. THIS COMPLAINT IS GENERAL TO ALL VIDEO AND AUDIO MATERIALS IN
>WHICH I APPEAR OR PARTICIPATE THAT ARE RELATED TO THE ANTICHRIST AND A
>CUP OF TEA.

Bla bla bla.. those big letters again. Brag, brag, brag..

>So, in this section, I have a) provided PRQ.se with the necessary
>electronic signature, b) I have identified the infringed work to which I
>hold the copyright as the book entitled, The AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea
>AND ALL VIDEO AND AUDIO MATERIAL RELATED TO IT IN WHICH I APPEAR OR AM
>HEARD, c) I have provided PRQ.se with the precise location on
>thepiratebay.org's site where thepiratebay.org is permitting the world
>to download an illegal electronic version of my VIDEO ON The AntiChrist
>and a Cup of Tea (i.e., http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3439729
>), d) my complete contact information as the complaining party, e) my
>good faith statement that my personal copyright of The AntiChrist and a
>Cup of Tea VIDEO ITEM is being infringed by both thepiratebay.org and
>PRQ.se, and f) my penalty of perjury statement that I am the legal and
>registered copyright owner of the said book and related materials as well.

In sweden we had a cool tv-show once. It was called "Vi i femman" (means
something like "we in the fifth grade") and it was a lot like your letter.
People answer questions about meaningless stuff. I'd like to answer like them!

On a) our answer is; "pannkaka" (google for it), and on b) we answer "congratulations".
Regarding c) our answer would have to be "hope you like the site" and on d)
"we understand your desperate needs".
Wow, a lot of questons, let's continue:
Our answer on both e) and f) is that we don't really have any faith in you, nor
do we actually believe that you are who you say you are. Can you please
send us a signed picture of yourself?

As a bonus answer on d) we would like to help you out, we understand the
severe problem you must have finding other men like yourself when you actually
try to hook up with random people in another continent like this!
So please go to http://thepiratebay.org/ and login. We have a quite large
porn section I guess, and since we are of such high moral we actually filter
the section for non-logged in users. So register (it's free!) and check it out!

>2. It is now PRQ.se's legal responsibility to to remove or disable
>access to http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3439729 , where my
>copyrighted WORK is being infringed. Further, should this material be
>posted again on thepiratebay.org's site, while PRQ.se is
>thepiratebay.org's hosting service, we will be obliged to take legal
>action against both parties at that time.

Uuuuuhh.. no it's not. We don't infringe on anything, now you're getting a bit
too personal here! We might start to cry when you threaten us, and we don't
have anyone to take care of us. Is that your mighty plan?

>3. CONSIDER THIS TO BE APPROPRIATE EMAIL NOTIFICATION, PURSUANT TO
>COPYRIGHT CLAIMS IN THE DMCA AND PRQ.se'S OWN POLICIES. NOW IT IS
>PRQ.se'S RESPONSIBILITY TO FORWARD THIS WRITTEN NOTIFICATION TO
>THEPIRATEBAY.ORG, THE INFRINGER, AND TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS PROMPTLY
>TO NOTIFY THE INFRINGER THAT IT HAS REMOVED OR DISABLED ACCESS TO MY
>COPYRIGHTED WORK'S MATERIAL (
>http://thepiratebay.org/details.php?id=3439729 ).

Consider this to be a letter that replies "fuck you" in an ironic yet subtle way.
Oh, damn, i just wrote it straight out!

>Sincerely,
>
>Timothy J. Huckabay
>President and Owner, Prophecy House, Inc. AND Legal Copyright Holder to
>The AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea book, etc.

Sincerely,
The Pirate Bay crew
presidents and owners, The Pirate Islands AND A 1989 Peugeot 205 GTI (the one with
the large engine) and copyright holders (*fnizz*) of the movies we shot during some
driving with it.

GOT TO PICK A POCKET OR TWO?

I have been looking through the latest Crime Stats released by the Home Office today and some alarming results jump out of the myriad of tables I’ve been going through.

I’m not picking on any one particular area here but it’s immediately obvious that Humberside Police need some help. They have the lowest confidence rating among residents in addressing local issues and clearing up crimes. No wonder the local rates of ‘Violence Against The Person’ recorded in both North East Lincolnshire (essentially Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Immingham) and Hull are among the highest in the country - higher than all but one Borough of inner London - and then only just squeezing in under Tower Hamlets! Hull gained the dubious honour of top marks for Violent Crime in 2006/07.

Something else caught my attention too. If you really want to be a successful criminal a quick perusal of the Home Office report would be useful. There are two types of crime with extremely low rates of detection in England at present. First up is ‘Theft or Unauthorised Taking of a Pedal Cycle’ where detection of crimes is running at 5%. Not sure whether there’s sufficient money in cycle theft to attract the Mr. Big’s though? Second in the ‘Getting Away With It’ stakes is Theft from the Person otherwise known as good old fashioned pickpocketing. Would be Fagin’s should sleep safe tonight knowing that only 4% of the 101,660 offences reported last year were cleared up in any way - and this includes tapping the offender on the wrist and sending him home - in a taxi probably - with no tea and a stern (broad definition of the word required) Police warning. That should do the trick then?

This is a useful resource if you’re interested..
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/ia/atlas.html