Archive for Commission
Story about police officer’s Facebook update after G20 death is cleared
Posted by: | CommentsThe Press Complaints Commission today rejected a privacy complaint on behalf of a serving police officer against a newspaper that published his Facebook status update commenting on the death of Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests.
In its ruling the PCC said the police officer’s privacy had not been invaded because the reporting of this comment was in the public interest.
After the death of Tomlinson during the London G20 protests in April, the officer posted an update stating: “I see my lot have murdered someone again. Oh well, shit happens.”
The People ran a story about the Facebook comment and another comment the officer made on Friends Reunited.
“The commission has recently made clear that it can be acceptable in some circumstances for the press to publish information taken from social networking websites, even when the material is originally intended for a small group of acquaintances and not publicly accessible. However, this will generally be only in cases where the public interest overrides the individual’s right to privacy,” the PCC said.
“The commission was persuaded that this was such a case. The individual in question was a serving police officer, commenting on a matter that was the subject of considerable media and public scrutiny. He had done so in a way that made light of a person’s death and the role apparently played by the police. There was a clear public interest in knowing about police attitudes, whether publicly or privately expressed, towards the incident.”
A picture of the officer on his private driveway and a picture taken from his sister’s Friends Reunited profile showing him in uniform were published by the People, but the PCC rejected complaints that the images were an invasion of privacy.
Feds find association between drywall, corrosion
Posted by: | CommentsThe federal government said Monday that it has found a “strong association” between problematic imported Chinese drywall and corrosion of pipes and wires, a conclusion that supports complaints by thousands of homeowners over the last year.
In its second report on the potentially defective building materials, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said its investigation also has found a “possible” link between health problems reported by homeowners and higher-than-normal levels of hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from the wallboard coupled with formaldehyde, which is commonly found in new houses.
The commission, along with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, continues to study the potential health effects, and the long-term implications of the corrosion.
“We can say that we believe that there’s a number of different chemicals that when brought together can be related to some of these irritant health effects that we’ve been getting reports of,” said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson. “But we’re still working toward that exact nexus.”
The commission said it can now move forward with additional studies to identify effective remediation of the problem and potential assistance from the federal government. However, Warren Friedman of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it’s too soon to discuss specifics of any financial assistance homeowners could get.
During the height of the U.S. housing boom, with building materials in short supply, American construction companies imported millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap. An Associated Press analysis of shipping records found that more than 500 million pounds of Chinese gypsum board was imported between 2004 and 2008 — enough to have built tens of thousands of homes.
They are heavily concentrated in the Southeast, especially Florida and areas of Louisiana and Mississippi hit hard by Hurricane Katrina.
The suspect building materials have previously been found by state and federal agencies to emit “volatile sulfur compounds” and produce a rotten-egg odor. Homeowners complain the fumes are corroding copper pipes, destroying TVs and air conditioners, blackening jewelry and silverware, and making them sick.
The federal government says China is assisting with the investigation.
Next steps after Afghanistan’s run-off vote is scrapped
Posted by: | CommentsNews that Afghanistan’s planned Nov. 7 run-off presidential election has been canceled after the withdrawal of Abdullah Abdullah, main rival to incumbent President Hamid Karzai, casts a new light on a story in this week’s Maclean’s about Grant Kippen, the Canadian who heads the country’s Electoral Complaints Commission.
The story tells about how Kippen, under intense pressure and world scrutiny, patiently investigated the Aug. 20 election, which Karzai initially appeared to have won. His ECC doesn’t run elections, but acts as a referee after the balloting when the inevitable complaints about cheating arise.
It was Kippen’s work that forced the Nov. 7 run-off by documenting extensive fraudulent voting, largely by Karzai’s backers. Now, with Abdullah’s exit, Karzai appears poised to cling to power without going through any process that lends his continued rule full democratic legitimacy.
Abdullah complained that Karzai refused to takes steps that would have made the Nov. 7 run-off fair. That would have included rapidly reforming Afghanistan’s so-called Independent Election Commission, the body that was in charge of the Aug. 20 fiasco. The IEC is headed by Azizullah Ludin, a Karzai appointee criticized by Human Rights Watch for, among other things, his obvious pro-Karzai bias.
Naturally, international attention is now fixed on the immediate steps needed to make Karzai’s win minimally acceptable. Some sort of power-sharing with Abduallah might help. But a longer view is also demanded to make sure the same dangerous farce isn’t acted out next time Afghans are called to the polls.
So here’s a suggestion, one that perhaps the Canadian government could promote: the untrustworthy Independent Election Commission that administers Afghanistan’s voting should be reformed along the lines of the trustworthy Electoral Complaints Commission that investigates after the fact.
The ECC is headed by two Afghans and three internationals. The foreign commissioners, including Kippen, are appointed by the UN. The numerical dominance of outsiders inevitably causes some resentment. (In fact, one of the Afghan commissioners quit last month, late in the ECC’s investigation of the Aug. 20 voting, when it became clear Kippen and the other internationals were serious aboKippen told me his ECC has been training many Afghans in the delicate work of looking into complaints after elections. The commission employs about 300, and just 18 of them are foreigners. Thus, the ECC might prove to be a training ground for impartial Afghans who could staff a full electoral apparatus in the future. As Canada looks for a practical role in Afghanistan beyond combat, this might be one promising place to focus aid aimed at building the Afghan government’s capacity to run its own show.
Military commission blasts feds for withholding info
Posted by: | CommentsA lawyer with the Canadian Military Complaints Commission says the truth about allegations of prisoner torture in Afghanistan will only surface if the government is forthcoming with documents.
Freya Kristjanson told Canada AM on Thursday that while the government has said it’s cooperating with the commission, it has not turned in any documents since March, 2008.
“This commission has not received a single new document (sic) despite repeated assurances that the government would be producing the documents both in the House and by their lawyers directly to the commission,” she said in an interview from Ottawa. “The government has simply failed to deliver any documents.”
“If the government cooperates with a body established by parliament within its mandate and gives the commission documents and access to witnesses then Canadians will know what happened,” she added.
The controversy being explored in the inquiry surrounds whether or not the Canadian government knew that Afghan prisoners were at risk of being tortured when the Canadian military transfered custody to the local authorities.
The content of the first report is still covered by national security. Colvin said the second report gave specific findings that “dealt with two issues, one of which concerned the risk of torture and/or actual torture of Afghan detainees.”
The reports were widely distributed to the Foreign Affairs and Defence departments as well as senior military commanders in both Ottawa and Kandahar.
His statement contradicts earlier assurances by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other high-ranking officials that they had not received any credible reports from Canadian officials about prisoner abuse.
Turbine complaint resolution up to county
Posted by: | Comments— Following a public hearing on Wednesday, the Huron County Planning Commission approved a zoning ordinance amendment recommendation to add a complaint resolution section to the county’s wind overlay zoning provisions.
“It’s up to them now,” said Huron County Planning Commission Chairman Ted Sheldon, referring to the Huron County Board of Commissioners.
He noted the process to add a complaint resolution provision to the county’s wind overlay zoning ordinance came about at the request of the Huron County Board of Commissioners. Huron County commissioners requested amendments be made to the wind ordinance because the county had received about 10 noise complaints from residents living by turbines in the Michigan Wind 1 wind development near Ubly.
Lundberg explained a wind energy subcommittee was formed, consisting of members from the county’s planning commission, board of commissioners and health department. One of the subcommittee’s tasks was to recommend a draft zoning amendment pertaining to complaint resolution that would be forwarded to the planning commission, and then board of commissioners for final approval.
Nigeria Police to Get Complaints Commission
Posted by: | CommentsAn independent police complaints commission will be established to address the grievances of policemen, Chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC), Mr. Parry B. O. Osayande said yesterday.
Mr. Osayande spoke at a validation workshop on the Commission’s five-year strategic plan (2008-2012) in Abuja. He said the complaints commission is to curb the abuses and excesses of the police.
He said to ensure unimpeded investigations, the new commission will not be under the PSC, the Police Force nor the Police Affairs Ministry. He said the five year plan sets out the future of the PSC as expressed by the aspiration and inputs of the members of the PSC and management staff.
Various police reforms reveal that low public opinion and confidence in police due to corruption, extortion and improper monitoring and handling misconduct among officers. They also sought the establishment of a recruitment board comprising of a retired police officer, two serving officers (not below the rank of Commissioners) and one director each from the PSC and the Ministry.
The Director General of CLEEN Foundation, Innocent Chuckuma said government must fund its agencies including the police force fully so as ensure service delivery to the public. “State institutions cannot be run on a charity,” he said.
Shoppers ripped-off by PPI costs
Posted by: | CommentsThe competition watchdog has found that the cost of payment protection insurance (PPI) alongside retail loans for catalogue items such electronics or furniture is still too expensive.
The Competition Commission believes that the sale of retail PPI, which covers the payments the sale of goods particularly through home shopping catalogues, is uncompetitive and unfair.
As part of its investigation into the PPI market as a whole, it found that customers who purchase retail PPI are prevented from considering the whole cost compared with other products. The watchdog also claimed that policies were not clearly explained in advertisements, and that once PPI was purchased it was difficult to switch providers.
“As with other types of PPI policy, retail PPI is highly profitable for distributors, and there is little competition between providers on price and other factors, limited ability for customers to search for alternatives or switch products and a considerable point-of-sale advantage for the providers,” the Competition Commission said in a statement.
Home shopping retailers do not generally have a high street presence and sell mainly clothing, gifts, furniture and electrical goods through catalogues. Orders are placed by telephone, post or, increasingly, over the Internet. The Competitive Commission’s investigate discovered that the average balances for customers with retail PPI are typically between close to £100 and £400 per month
The Commission says it is now considering ways to allow customers to better understand and compare retail PPI with alternatives, and to switch between providers more easily.
Transgender child, job are focus of complaint against TSC
Posted by: | CommentsTippecanoe County’s Human Relations Commission is investigating a discrimination complaint involving the Tippecanoe School Corp. and a transgender student.
According to Mike Piggott, commission chairman, Trudy Paxton of Lafayette filed the complaint against the TSC on behalf on herself and her daughter last week during the commission’s quarterly meeting.
In the complaint, Paxton claims that she lost her job and her daughter was forced to change schools because of discrimination against her daughter.
“What it all boils down to is my child’s situation and the fact that she is transgender,” said Paxton, who had worked for the TSC as a bus driver. “I never thought that after nearly 10 years of driving I’d be looking for a new job.”At this point it is our intent to cooperate fully with the human relations commission,” said Susan DeLong, TSC assistant superintendent for personnel. “This is the first complaint we have received through this channel, and we are working with our legal counsel to figure out the next step.”
Paxton said her daughter was harassed on a daily basis while attending McCutcheon High School. After months of working with school officials to resolve the issue, Paxton decided to enroll her daughter in the Elston Education Center during last school year. TSC does not provide transportation to Elston.
Because Paxton had to drop her daughter off at Elston after completing her bus route, changes had to be made in TSC’s parking structure to allow her to be the first one in and out of the bus lot each morning.
Paxton said the changes offended some drivers who felt she was receiving special treatment.
She said that she had to miss five days near the end of last school year because she was having panic attacks related to a “serious issue” involving her daughter, and those absences should have been excused.
Afghan Election Panel Annuls Ballots From Karzai Strongholds
Posted by: | CommentsAfghanistan’s UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission today invalidated voting from 83 polling places in political strongholds of President Hamid Karzai, and ordered further vote recounts over alleged ballot stuffing by Karzai’s supporters in last month’s elections.
The invalidated votes — from the southern, ethnic Pashtun provinces of Kandahar, Ghazni, and Paktika — will be too few to reduce Karzai’s 1.4 million-vote lead enough to force him into a second round election against his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.
The Obama administration has counted on the Aug. 20 vote to strengthen the political credibility of Afghanistan’s government, and reinforce it as a partner for a stepped-up U.S. fight against Taliban insurgents.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said yesterday the U.S. is concerned by the complaints commission’s finding this week of “clear and convincing evidence” of vote fraud. The U.S. wants Afghan authorities to “take these charges very seriously and deal with them in a way that people can have confidence” in the results, Kelly told reporters.
Abdullah has released photos and videos that he says show Karzai’s backers stuffing ballot boxes in southern Afghanistan, where violence by Taliban guerrillas kept turnout low. Karzai’s campaign has denied any role in vote fraud.
FCC Complaints Spike In Q1
Posted by: | CommentsComplaints to the FCC jumped to 245,241 in the first quarter of the year, up from just 70,836 in the fourth quarter of last year. Most of the increase was in the radio and television broadcasting category, which brought in 188,558 complaints, up from 29,108 in Q4 08.
A big chunk of those radio and TV complaints — 181,080 of them — were related to alleged indecency or obscenity in programming, with nearly all of them, 179,997 complaints, coming in to the commission in March. Just 465 complaints in Q1 involved “general criticism” of programming, 1,189 were related to digital television, “other programming issues” led to 1,434 complaints, and carrier marketing and advertising inspired 4,390 to complain to the commission.
The quarterly complaint statistics cover what the FCC calls “informal complaints” — that is, complaints that come in through the mail, fax, e-mail, or phone that identify an entity under FCC jurisdiction, allege harm or injury, and request relief. Though the report covers the top subjects that bring complaints, it doesn’t include all the complaints the commission handles