The Right Dishonourable – Page 111 – As truthful as resources permit

Tories seemingly break copyright laws in Jeremy Corbyn attack video

Posted on 15 September, 2015 by Jimmy Nicholls

A Conservative attack video aimed at smearing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as a “threat to our national security” was taken down on Tuesday following a copyright infringement claim from a supporter of the hard left MP.

Adrian Cousins, editor of socialist website Counterfire, challenged the Tories over the use of some footage in their attack video which appears to have belonged to him.

In a Facebook post Cousins said: “Just had the Tory Jeremy Corbyn attack video removed from YouTube for copyright infringement.”

The takedown is ironic given the vigour with which the Tories have protected intellectual property over the course of the last parliament, with internet service providers pushed into blocking a number of piracy websites, including Pirate Bay, only in March of this year.

Andy Maxwell of TorrentFreak, a blog dedicated to filesharing, was rather irked by the infringement:

“Given the Conservatives’ strong support for the rights of copyright holders in recent years, the fact they would use ‘stolen’ video footage for a campaign is surprising enough. But to go one further and use footage filmed by an opposition supporter really is something else.”

Following the takedown the Right Dishonourable got in touch with the folks at Conservative headquarters to see what they had to say for themselves:

And does this prove that in the age of the Internet existing copyright laws should be relaxed in favour of more fair use? @CCHQPress — Jimmy Nicholls (@jdenicholls) September 15, 2015

No response just yet.

Image Credit – The Battle of Copyright, June 2011 by Christopher Dombres

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Alistair Darling accepts SNP threat of second Scottish referendum

Posted on 15 September, 2015 by Jimmy Nicholls

The former chancellor Alistair Darling argued that Scots should be given a second independence referendum if the appetite for one emerges, only a year after the Jocks voted to remain part of Britain.

Having fronted the Better Together campaign opposing independence, the former Labour MP told the prime minister David Cameron it would be “daft” to deny a vote if the demand was there, even as Westminster devolves great chunks of power to the Scottish parliament in Holyrood.

“My view is if people really, genuinely want to have a vote you are daft to deny it,” he told the Times. “It’s a bit like in Spain: The Spanish government seem determined not to hold a referendum [on Catalonian independence] which always seemed to me to be just fanning the flames.”

Since winning over almost all of Scotland in the general election the Scottish National Party (SNP) has been taunting Westminster with the potential of another referendum, as well as preparing for Scottish elections which could be framed as a mandate for another independence poll.

Earlier this week Nat leader and Scots first minister Nicola Sturgeon said their manifesto for the Scottish elections would include a timescale for another vote, as well as stipulating events which much prompt it, such as Britain voting to leave the EU in a referendum in 2016-17.

“It’s then for people in Scotland, whether it is in this election or in future elections, to decide whether they want to vote for our manifesto and then if there is in the future another independence referendum,” the Fishmonger of Holyrood said.

“Whether that’s in five years or 10 years or whenever, it will be down to the people of Scotland to decide whether they want to vote for independence or not.”

At the time of the referendum Alex Salmond, the then leader of the Nats, had called the vote a “once in a generation opportunity”; He presumably views such ballots as “once every-time-we-feel-like-it opportunities” these days.

Two weeks ago a poll from Ipsos Mori revealed that Scots would vote in favour of independence if the referendum was staged today, with 53 percent in favour and 44 percent against.

Image Credit – Scottish National War Memorial, Edinburgh Castle by Dave and Margie Hill edited by the Right Dishonourable

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TUC targets Tories with attack on first-past-the-post system ‘no longer fit for purpose’

Posted on 15 September, 2015 by Jimmy Nicholls

Trade unionists escalated the emerging battle between themselves and the Tories on Tuesday in an attack on the British electoral system that referenced the slim mandate the Conservatives’ parliamentary majority rests on.

Debating at the Trade Union Congress’s annual meetup, the club backed a motion demanding a switch to a more proportional electoral system that would bring House of Commons membership in line with the national vote.

At present elections are fought through first-past-the-post, which gives each constituency seat to the candidate with the most votes in that area without consideration for how voters are dispersed across the country.

In the last general election in May this left the Tories with just over half the seats in the Commons despite netting a mere 36.8 percent of votes cast, whilst at the other end Ukip gained only 1 MP in a chamber of 650 despite capturing more than 12.7 percent of votes.

In the motion the TUC also pointed out that the “Conservative majority government was elected with the support of just 24 percent of the electorate”, a figure that includes those eligible but who did not vote.

The disparity between votes and seats was highlighted at the time of the election by the Electoral Reform Society, which campaigns for a change towards a proportional voting system.

Commenting on the TUC motion, Katie Ghose of the Electoral Reform Society said:

“Unions getting behind change was a key factor in New Zealand’s shift to proportional representation in the 1990s, so this could be the start of a major move away from our outdated voting system for local and Westminster elections in the UK. We hope that the Labour party under new leadership will take note of today’s vote and get behind real reform so that seats will truly match votes in future elections.”

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union which proposed the motion, added:

“Far too many voices are shut out by our voting system. First-past-the-post writes off those who aren’t in swing seats, leaving millions on the electoral scrapheap. We urgently need a fairer voting system where everyone’s vote counts and so that the political diversity which now exists in the UK can be reflected in Parliament and in council chambers across the country.”

The move by the TUC coincides with parliamentary debate on the Trade Union Bill, a bill pioneered by the Tories which could curb workers’ right to strike and in turn weaken the power of the unions.

Whilst the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Ukip are generally supportive of a proportional system, all of the parties standing to benefit from it, Labour has in the past been more equivocal on the issue, with some MPs opposing a change in a referendum in 2011.

First-past-the-post is one of the means by which the Tories have maintained themselves as the natural party of government in the postwar era, with most Conservatives campaigning against a change in that referendum.

Image Credit – The Commons Chamber, November 2007 by Herry Lawford, edited by the Right Dishonourable

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Reading and maths more important in digital education than computer spend, says OECD

Posted on 15 September, 2015 by Jimmy Nicholls

Reading and maths skills are proving more important in the emerging digital world than spending huge amounts on expensive computing, according to the rich country think tank the OECD.

Countries that have heavily invested in computing were said to have made “no noticeable improvement” across PISA assessments reading, maths or the sciences, despite the extravagant promises of the IT industry.

Students who used computers moderately were said to do “somewhat better” than those who used them little, but heavy computer users apparently suffered, even when background was considered.

On the subject of inequality the OECD said “perhaps the most disappointing finding” was that technology was not bridging the gap between poor and rich students.

Despite all this Andreas Schleicher, OECD director for education and skills, remained hopeful of IT’s potential:

“School systems need to find more effective ways to integrate technology into teaching and learning to provide educators with learning environments that support 21st century pedagogies and provide children with the 21st century skills they need to succeed in tomorrow’s world. Technology is the only way to dramatically expand access to knowledge. To deliver on the promises technology holds, countries need to invest more effectively and ensure that teachers are at the forefront of designing and implementing this change.”

Among the problems highlighted by the report was students’ use of copy and pasting in schoolwork, which Schleicher drily said “is unlikely to help them to become smarter.”

“Technology can amplify great teaching, but great technology cannot replace poor teaching,” he added.

To asses the digital skills of children the OECD challenged them to “use a keyboard and mouse to navigate texts by using tools like hyperlinks, browser button or scrolling, in order to access information, as well as make a chart from data or use on-screen calculators” – a rather low bar to climb.

Students from Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, and Shanghai were the top performers, fulfilling a stereotype that was rather spoiled by Canada, which also did well.

Interested parties can read all 200 pages of the OECD report online, which should kill off a few evenings.

Image Credit – Smashed computer, April 2009 by Amanda Tetrault

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Robotics researchers demand ban on sexbots because they reinforce stereotypes

Posted on 15 September, 2015 by Jimmy Nicholls

A pair of robotics researchers launched a campaign to ban sex robots on Monday over concerns that they could reinforce stereotypes and emphasise the physical side of relationships.

Kathleen Richardson of De Montfort University, Britain, and Erik Billing of University of Skövde, Sweden, argue that the use of robots for sex entrenches a power imbalance between men and women or children.

They also dispute that the development of sexbots will reduce demand for human prostitutes, claiming that it will in fact increase it.

Though the researchers consider the possibility male sexbots might be used by women or gay men, their campaign ultimately directs its criticism towards the less fair sex, citing research that suggests men have less empathy.

“I propose that extending relations of prostitution into machines is neither ethical, nor is it safe,” said Richardson, writing in the campaign’s founding document.

“If anything the development of sex robots will further reinforce relations of power that do not recognise both parties as human subjects. Only the buyer of sex is recognised as a subject, the seller of sex (and by virtue the sex-robot) is merely a thing to have sex with.”

Under the campaign the researchers hope to encourage robotics researchers to refuse to develop sexbots in any form, as well as increase the “development of ethical technologies that reflect human principles of dignity, mutuality and freedom”, whatever that means.

The Right Dishonourable has contacted the campaign for further comment.

Image Credit – Sex Lives of Robots by Michael Sullivan