h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

>>then again bbc news and cnn thinks it is correct to call my country Holland.<<

Pheloxi didn't call his county Holland.. He was making a point that in those links, the bbc and cnn have.


lil xx

But I always when I say Netherlands.....It sounds so much like the 'nether regions'

topic drift - the point I was raising was the BBC news site seems to be paying scant regard to the conditions we are asked to observe by stating the suspects arrested ARE those in the photos.

CHawke

the Netherlands is like Holland come from word the lowlands...

CHawk, some times you to need use the tools you have. the arrests will not only be based on cctv footage. there were quiet few arrest of people looked like pictures, but released as soon as they were properly investaged.

another thing could have made drawings of men they were looking I think that would have been worse.

Just to clarify, there is, as we understand it, no legal problem with saying that the men shown in CCTV footage are the same men arrested by the police. However, if we were to say that they actually were the bombers, we may be in contempt of court because that particular fact has not been proven. You'll note that at no point does the BBC News report say 'these are the bombers', merely that these men are suspected of being the bombers (implicit in that claim is that they might not actually be the bombers, merely that these are the men the police currently have as their prime suspects).

We do not want to be responsible for causing a mistrial. therefore, we ask the h2g2 Community to assist us in enforcing this legal requirement.

We've requested additional clarification on the matter of contempt of court from the BBC legal team, which we'll be adding to the House Rules for your guidance.

Mmm, I still feel if I was a defence Lawyer, that one angle I would take was to cast doubt that the CCTV images were my client and that the fact that the media have said that a grainy image iS my client I would use as grounds for unfair trial.

But then I am not a lawyer or have any legal training - I just feel that it is wrong to say image A equal person B

CHawke

I have to remark that it was a pity that several newspapers on the day AFTER the arrests didn't have as much restraint as the BBC.

What the hell was post 24 about?

I know a Colin Murray who was killed in the bombings in London.

Maybe I am just being over-sensitive, but as no-one on that convo so far had that name, it just jumped out at me as a horrible thing to read.

With referece to post 86. Surely DNA evidence will also be used for identification purposes? They science of finding and using even the tinest traces is now well advanced from what I've heard.

Colin Murray is a Radio 1 DJ, I'm sure that's who was being referred to.

Thanks for telling me that Cyzaki, I don't listen to the radio much and I wouldn't have known that. Guess I am just being paranoid then.

yep, sorry

he is a very annoying radio 1 DJ who also did an appaling and incorrect 'guide to the hitch hickers guide'

Ah, all is revealed, no wonder you don't like him! Thanks for taking the time to explain that to me Jon M.

Paranoia is a terrible thing, you jump to all sorts of stupid conclusions!

This is going to go down as slight topic drift....

On the way into work this morning I ended up listening by some strange quirk of fate to BBC 3 Counties Radio. The topic of conversation was Saddam Hussein - no less - and his impending trial. I'm sorry I didn't catch the names of the 2 gentlemen involved in the conversation, one was the interviewer for the BBC and the other was Arabic and heavily involved in the legal process.

The interviewer was asking all the questions along the lines of "Do you think the world will see this as a fair trial" and "Will Saddam have all the proper legal representation"? The Arabic guy ended up ansewring those and subsequent questions as if he's already been found guilty and was debating whether the Iraqi government would step in or not if the death sentance was passed, WHEN he was found guilty - not IF!

He also said that Saddam was living in better conditions in jail than all the prisoners he'd had put in, but ought to be living in worse conditions. Why not equal?



Bassman