Private Eye editor talks to Leveson Enquiry.....

Not that it will add much to the debate, but I am personally quite pleased that Mr Hislop has spoken at Leveson, and I find his comments to be worth recommending. I don't think that there can be any doubt that there has developed over the last twenty or so years an increasing feeling within the mainstream media that the public are only interested in juicy, sexy stories and that certainly in the tabloids there has been a move to feed the public a continuous diet of “celebrity” gossip rather than any attempt at real journalism. In spite of the outcry over the News of the Word hacking scandal it seems unlikely to me that there has been any real change in the way in which the press operates. Why do I say this? One very simple reason. I am rather afraid that the tabloid editors and their advisors who have reached this decision about what the public wants are correct. The evidence is that in spite of the coverage of the tabloid press and their activities we still see the same type of stories selling the same number of papers to the same people as we did before all of this came out.

The conclusion that I draw from this goes against the generally held conspiracy theorist view that the public are controlled by the media. I think this is pretty clear evidence that this is not now, nor has it ever been, the case. In fact I would go so far as to suggest that the opposite is in fact the case. That the public, who have the purchasing power are the ones to control what the media puts out. I think that it is quite clear that in the main editors are at the mercy of what the public will actually pay for. I can quite easily imagine editors at the News of the World meeting to discuss a story that they knew had been procured by non-standard means, and making a decision on whether to run it not based on anything ethical or moral but simply on the criteria of is this something the public will pay money for? I can even imagine them losing sleep at night thinking about how the driver of commercialism was forcing them to make editorial decisions that they themselves found morally repugnant.

This may seem an odd position for a blogger to take, and please don't misunderstand I am no defender of the actions of private investigators and lazy journalists, but I feel that the blame is being misplaced at least to some extent, and that we also need to look at society as a whole and why we are in a position that news stories have a lifespan of days, no matter how offensive, and why the criteria for what is considered news is decided y what is commercially acceptable rather than what is from a journalistic viewpoint a good story. This is not to try to shift blame but to raise awareness that the answers to getting a better, more responsible, more useful media are more complex than they are being portrayed. It is not simply a case of a few bad apples, or rogue elements, but a more deep rooted societal problem. It will be interesting to see what Leveson comes up with, but I suspect that one thing it won't do is address the issue of the public getting the media and therefore the stories that it deserves.

My own feeling is that this is symptomatic of the psychological condition within the human mind that drives us to always want more, more violence, more sex, more action, more drama, just more. Look at the development of horror films – each generation has to be more shocking than the last. The same is true in music, it has to be faster, louder, more extreme. In sport the standard of players at the top level is constantly being pushed. We are a species that thrives on the edge, tha exists to push boundaries, and this is partly what has driven us to our position of strength as a species, but is also what leaves us vulnerable to the charge that that same drive has negative implications that are just as damaging as the positives are healing. I'm not sure that there is a solution to this, or if there is that it is something that can be summed up easily, but I guess that we will have to see....

Tax doesn't have to be taxing....

Particularly if your personal tax calculation means that you aren't going to owe anything. It's been a tough year, with very little in the way of income, but hey, these things happen. Now don't get me wrong, it's been a tremendously busy year, and a year of solid achievement. If I had been in a position to get all of my invoices paid, I'd have done really well, but in the current economic climate, getting paid is rather a different matter to getting work. Three clients going bust hasn't helped but it is a learning process and one that is ongoing. Anyway, enough of that. The reason for this post is to remind all of my UK readers that the deadline for filing your tax return for the year 2010-2011 is 31^st January so not long to go now. Failing to get it in on time will result in a £100 fine, and realistically, even if you haven't started the process there is no reason why you can't still get it done. It isn't complex or difficult, it can be done online without difficulty and the whole process can be managed in a couple of days, a weekend, and you have a couple of those left before the deadline.

There is no getting around the need to file your tax return if you are responsible for your own tax so get organised, get your information on income and expenditure together and you can get the wjoe thing done pretty quickly an easily. You can always get help from a friendly local accountant for not very much money but to be honest it is pretty easy to do it yourself. One thing I will say is that if you do get stuck, the staff on the phonelines for HMRC are extremely helpful and make the process of getting the form done remarkably easy even if there are complicating issues. It is actually quite pleasant to find such a well staffed and efficient call centre who don't make you feel stupid when you cock something up.

There are two certainties in life, death and taxes, but that doesn't mean that tax has to be something to be frightened of or worried about. It is just one of those things that has to be done if we want to live in a society that has healthcare for all, free education up to eighteen years, roads, street lights and all those other bits and pieces that make life bearable. And yes, I know that our incme tax doesn't pay directly for those things – that in fact our income tax goes to make interest payments on Government debt, but lets face it, without income tax we would have to pay up in some other way, and this is probably the fairest method – the more you earn the more you pay....unless you are a large corporation of course......but thats another story.......

Practical self improvement tips – a series of tips to help you feel better about yourself

There are endless articles about self improvement or healthy lifestyles, or diets, or exercise regimes and many of them are sponsored by, or advertise, the major lifestyle brands that cash in on our dis-satisfaction. Conspiracy theorists out there please feel free to wonder if companies who stand to profit by making us feel bad about ourselves might perhaps not be best placed to offer advice on feeling better....but that is an aside, the point is that what there is a lack of is stuff that you can do for free, so that is what I am going to try to do here. All I ask in return is that if you find anything particularly useful, or have your own ideas, link them up here and let me know. What we need is a decent resource and a community that helps each other without alterior motive! So, on with this first article.

One of the quickest and easiest and most accessible ways of feeling a little better about yourself is to take exercise. This is medically proven fact. Taking exercise increases the amounts of dopamine and endorphins released in the brain and these chemicals are associated with pleasure and stimulation. They are the reason that some people can become addicted to exercise. They act to lift you mood slightly and to give you a very slight high. If this is the case, why are we not all super fit exercise freaks? It is a good question to which there isn't one clear answer. Some people will tell you that it is because we have as a society become lazy, but this doesn't seem right to me. It could be that we are all so tired after the amount of work, or stress if we are out of work that we have to deal with, but again this should be an argument for more exercise, not less, as it would help to increase our energy levels and decrease our stress levels. It could simply be a question of time, but again, it doesn't take more than about five minutes to take a little exercise so that seems incorrect to. I think it is almost certainly a combination of several of these reasons, and a few more each playing a part in making us less and less likely to start exercising.

Another big factor is of course motivation. We see this every year around this time as one by one our New Year resolutions slip away and we return to old habits. This is part of the reason for hoping that people will share their experiences and discoveries on these blog posts, because the very best way of retaining motivation is to be a part of a group that offers support and motivation to each other. Knowing that you are not alone can be a tremendous help. So in that spirit, let me tell you how I am introducing a little exercise back into my life. I wanted to work on my arms and shoulders as they have been becoming increasingly stiff and sore as I age, the after effects of too much high level sport in my youth I guess, but anyway, I can't afford a gym membership, and have body image issues that make exercising in public difficult so I am starting small. I take a can of beans in each hand and gently do a few biceps curls, you know, when you bend your arm at the elbow lifting your hand up? I do this during an ad break when I watching the morning news and again in the evening. Just about five minutes each time, but after a week the difference is quite remarkable. My arms hurt less and I am actually looking forward to doing my exercises a little. I am also sleeping a little better, which could be coincidence, but may not be, we will have to see.

So, come on folks, roll up roll up, lets here how you are doing with your heathy start to this Olympic year. Lets see if we can get a little group of mutual supporters going to make this a year to remember.....

Nights out in Birmingham – Fredericks Bar

Nights out in Birmingham – A series of unbiased reports on places I have been....

So, tonights report comes from a city centre bar in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham. The Jewellery Quarter is home to some lovely nightspots but is not on the agenda of many people since it is a little way from the city centre proper. During the day it has the majority of Birminghams jewellery trade, as the name suggests, both manufacturers and retailers and many people suggest that it is hard to find a better place anywhere in the UK for Jewellery purchases. After dark the area really comes alive though, as it is also home to some of the more affluent but less well known corporate businesses in the city, with several architects, management consultants, IT companies and the like having offices in the lovely Georgian squares that are a feature of this affluent part of the city. This affluence has led to the development of a thriving restaurant and bar scene, with an emphasis on quality and style.

Epitomising this development is a very cool place that was host to a recent trip out for your author. Sitting just along Frederick Street from the famous Jewellery Quarter clock is a very pleasant looking glass fronted coffee and wine bar also called Fredericks. Fredericks Bar during the day features a spacious area out front with tables and umbrellas which is perfect for sitting with a coffee watching the World go by, particularly for those of us who still enjoy a cigarette or cigar. Once through the large glass doors the bar itself is beautifully appointed in the style of Seattle coffee shop or Barcelona street corner bar with sumptuous leather seating complimenting the dark wood feel of the bar and walls. It is often a concern when I see a bar finished to this standard of style that the substance of the place will fail to match up, but this is certainly not the case at Fredericks. The coffee is fresh and full flavoured, the espresso particularly rich and potent. The drinks range is broad with some great World beers and a strong emphasis on quality throughout the wine list. I tried a very pleasant fruity red wine from Argentina that slipped down very comfortably and left a delightful warm glow.

Having sampled the drinks I perused the food menu, and found it excellent for light bites as well as something a little more substantial. The baristas seemed knowledgeable and were able to talk in detail about the menu offering advice on ingredients for specific dietary needs, something that can be tremendously useful in these days of somewhat unusual food regimes. All in all the feel and look of Fredericks bar is exceptional, the coffee first class, the alcoholic drinks are well worth seeking out and the food is a perfect mix of strong flavours and elegant presentation. Highly recommended as somewhere a little different but still eminently accessible for a great night out in Birmingham....

The problem with conspiracy theories - eye witness evidence.....

Part of an ongoing series on the issues around some of the areas of study that interest me and that make me think. You may have noticed by now that I like thinking. I believe that it is fundamental to the progress of humanity to question and wonder and think about the World and all the wonders in it. I have a broad range of interests but they do tend to have a core, or nucleus around which they orbit. This core is based around psychology, philosophy, theory of mind and perception and how we, as a species view and understand and interact with our environment. A big part of that is trying to understand how the human mind works in terms of things like pattern recognition. A good example of this is the famous image of the face on mars. This is an image of a mountain on the surface of Mars that appears to be carved into the likeness of a stylised anthropomorphic face. Further photographs of the area have shown that there is nothing other than natural processes involved in the shaping of the mountain top, and that the “face” is simply an optical illusion caused by shadow and light in an unusual configuration. What is interesting is to show this image to people and ask them about it.

Almost everyone that I have shown it to has seen a face and has questioned how this can be. This is even the case with people who are completely convinced that there is not now, nor has there ever been, life on Mars so there is absolutely no way that a mountain top could have been artificially modified to show a face. They still see a face and wonder how it got there, as distinct from immediately seeing a mountain top with interesting pattern of light and shade. This is interesting as it suggests that pattern recognition is a powerful driver in perception, and one that is powerful enough to overcome scepticism or even reality. This, for me, has implications for the whole sphere of conspiracy theory per se in that if we are conditioned to see patterns and interpret them in a way which does not rely on fact or reality, we are thereby only ever observing subjectively rather than objectively and our perception of reality is not something on which we can rely outside the most mundane areas. This is an area that is coming into greater prominence as our criminal courts begin to react to this phenomena in terms of reducing the importance placed on eye witness reports in light of evidence that even when the witness is a trained observer, the evidence is subject to interpretation and is not reliable.

When looking at conspiracy theories it is frequently suggested that there are groups who are trying to control the world by infiltration, false flag operations, misdirection, symbolism and so on, and these are often spotted as patterns, either in data or architecture or group dynamics. Of course, if we are now suggesting that pattern recognition is inherent to the extent that it causes misinterpretation of evidence then these aspects of conspiracy theory become much more difficult to assess and to hold as being credible. If we consider the Masonic/illuminati conspiracy theories that major American cities are laid out along Masonic principles and the street systems show Masonic symbols we immediately see the problem – we are conditioned to spot patterns, so thats what we do, whether they are actually there or not. In the same way, if we look at UFO conspiracies we can see that lights in the sky could potentially be a rich area for misinterpretation and erroneous observation, even when the observer is highly trained and credible. The Phoenix lights case would be a good example of this, a line of lights being misinterpreted as a triangular shape.

This is not to say that conspiracy theories are wrong, or irrelevant, but simply that reports must be viewed from the perspective of understanding that at the most fundamental level, we are conditioned to see things that are not real, and to misinterpret things that are real in such a way that it can be suggestive of large scale conspiracy in a very plausible way, when in fact there is little if any evidence. This applies to a very wide range of conspiracy theories. This is far from being the only issue, but it is a good start point to bear in mind....

The problem of UFO's, ghosts and other paranormal phenomena...

I have an interest in the theories regarding extra-terrestrial life, life after death, reincarnation and various other alternative viewpoints that are outside the mainstream, but I am also a staunch realist with a scientific background and a healthily cynical attitude. Given this caveat you are probably, if you are a “believer” in UFO stories and the like, already switching off, and this is at the root of the problem that I am going to address. Let us be clear about this. Forget conspiracy theories for the moment, forget Area 51 and Roswell, and everything else you have read of heard about for a moment. Whatever the various governments and secret societies may or may not know one think is absolutely clear. There is NO conclusive evidence regarding the existence or otherwise of UFOs, ghosts, ESP or anything else in the public domain. None, not one piece. But how can I say this? What about the Phoenix lights? What about Rendelsham Forest? What about x,y and z? These are reports, not evidence. They may be very credible reports, from very credible witnesses, but this is irrelevant to the premise being discussed. They are not evidence. If I went to court and claimed that you had just stolen my car and I had seen you this might be enough to have you investigated by the police but certainly wouldn't be enough to convict you. This is not evidence, it is a report. The reason that the police would perhaps investigate this is to gather evidence to prove or disprove the report to the satisfaction of the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK, and then a Judge and jury to gain a conviction.

The point is that the report is just that, a report, an opinion of an event, real or not, and that is all that we, the general public have with regard to any of these things. This presents a problem, because this is not the impression that many people have when they think about these phenomena. There is a general confusion regarding what constitutes evidence, and of course in this area it is always argued that any evidence that is found is immediately hidden and those finding it are silenced. This may well be the case, and at no point am I dismissing the possibility of UFOs, alien contact or anything else, but this is the problem. Whether there has been evidence hidden, or no real evidence at all, the result is the same. There is no evidence in the public domain. Consequently the only thing that we can reliably say about these areas is that they are interesting, and that there are possibilities that these phenomena exist and may have an influence, and yet the majority of people in the UK believe that UFOs and ghosts exist. It is a small majority, depending on which figures you believe, between 52% and 63% of the British public believe in at least some of these things, but a greater number than vote for our Government.

This is a problem, because it means that whenever reports are made in the media, it becomes impossible, in my opinion to investigate these reports effectively because of the belief that is generated. A classic example of this has already been mentioned, the Phoenix Lights report. A UFO sighting report from multiple witnesses in Phoenix, Arizona of a series of lights in the night sky. According to the reports these were anything from a line of lights that appeared in sequence, a report corroborated by the video footage available, to a gigantic triangular craft the size of two football pitches, or at least 250 metres long flying silently and slowly over the city, a report uncorroborated by any video evidence available. Having studied the evidence and communicated with witnesses personally I am satisfied that this is not a UFO sighting but is a case of a military aircraft dropping battlefield illumination flares over a military exercise some considerable distance from Phoenix. This is in part similar to the official story presented by the US official investigators, and therefore not accepted by UFO believers, however, it is by far the most likely explanation, and using Occams Razor it is the default position until such time as additional information is uncovered.

The problem is that there are many more people, some of whom are witnesses to these lights, some of whom aren't who go beyond disputing the official story, or putting forward alternatives, to categorically stating that this is a genuine alien craft sighting, which is of course not the case. The investigation has not reached a conclusion, nor is it likely to, but that is another story....

Why programmes like CSI are a bad thing....

It may seem like an odd subject for a blog post, but I have a theory, yes I know, one of many, but hey, I'm a thinker. Anyway, the theory goes something like this. Programmes like the CSI series, Bones, Cold Case and so on do a significant dis-service to modern society. They do this by perpetuating the myth that science can provide answers to “mysterious” occurrences. Further, I believe that this is a deliberate ploy on the part of the geo-political-media complex to continue the process of controlling the way we, the public view the World. Recently there has been increasing cause to question in the criminal courts the evidence of forensic experts. There have been several cases of miscarriages of justice based on forensic evidence including fibre analysis, DNA fingerprinting, injury analysis and so on and the reporting of these has been less than full in the mainstream media.

There can be little doubt that the advances in scientific understanding over the last hundred or so years has been incredibly rapid and has given tremendous advantage in terms of standards of living, but as yet science has not given us a complete understanding of the way the World works and the intricacies therein. A couple of non-specific cases that leap to mind are the series of “Satanic abuse cases” in the late 1970's and 1980's, the series of miscarriages over “shaken baby syndrome”, the erroneous use of psychological profiling in several serial killer cases, and these, and many more like them suffer from a common fault. They all rely on experts in their fields presenting apparently credible evidence in criminal investigations and cases that because of an incomplete picture of the science involved, both on the part of the experts involved, and the investigators and later the courts and jurys, is fundamentally flawed.

Why do I say this? Well, the hind sight evidence is clear. There have now been several cases where evidence provided by expert witnesses has been subsequently successfully challenged despite the original evidence being seen as unquestionable. This has been the case in all of the examples listed above. To date there has not been a single successful prosecution of a Satanic cult of any type, nor any evidence for the existence of Satanic abuse other than as an excuse for abuse in general. There have been several high profile cases of families torn apart by criminal convictions for child abuse that have later been overturned, and several cases where serial killers have been free to continue as a direct result of investigators being misdirected by incorrect profiling by psycholgists. So how does this link to my concerns over what are, on the surface, innocent, entertaining TV shows? These shows focus strongly on the use of forensic science as a panacea to miscarriages of justice and as a perfect way of reaching the truth, and this is a problem.

It sets the tone in the mind of the viewing public, some of whom will go on to carry out jury service, that forensic evidence is black and white, unquestionable and inviolable and that experts in these fields have all of the answers. This is simply not the case, but by creating this mindset it allows for the possibility that jurys can be manipulated and directed in ways that can lead to these miscarriages. I think these programmes should come with a warning stating clearly that they are works of fiction and that they represent an idealised version of the way in which these experts work and the facilities that they have available to them, and do not represent fact, but even with such a warning, would that make a difference? Now don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy these programmes, but I am in a position where I have an understanding of the science involved, and am clear on the difference between fact and fiction, but I am also aware that I am in the minority in a society which is becoming increasingly scientifically illiterate once you get beyond those who follow a scientific career. If you don't believe me, next time you are out with friends in their late teens and early twenties and turn the conversation to any science subject, you will find it shocking I'm sure how quickly people who don't have an interest in science get out of their depth and start coming out with information that is just wrong. It is quite worrying really, but that is a subject for another post....