Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Jailed Facebook inciter to appeal

A Cheshire man who was jailed for using Facebook to incite disorder during last week's riots is to appeal against his sentence, his solicitor has said.

Jordan Blackshaw, from Marston, was jailed for four years at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, along with Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, from Warrington.

Blackshaw's solicitor said his 21-year-old client and his family were "somewhat shocked by the sentence".

The judge said on Tuesday he hoped the sentences would act as a deterrent.

He also praised the swift actions of the police.

Blackshaw and Sutcliffe-Keenan pleaded guilty under sections 44 and 46 of the Serious Crime Act to intentionally encouraging another to assist the commission of an indictable offence.

The Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Carlile, president of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said he was "surprised" by the sentences.

'Started as a joke'

He added: "The Chester sentence was handed out by a very experienced and highly regarded judge who was reflecting the views of the community he serves.

"But the sentences are heavy, and there are no guideline cases for judges to work from for this situation.

"I would expect the court of appeal to be asked very soon to provide a guideline case or cases so that judges can provide consistent, if severe, sentences around the country."

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Residents in Northwich expressed mixed views about the sentencing of the two men

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The prosecution said Blackshaw had created a Facebook event called "Smash d[o]wn in Northwich Town", intended for the receipt of the "Mob Hill Massive Northwich Lootin".

The page said people should meet on 9 August, between 13:00 and 16:00 BST, "behind maccies" - thought to be McDonald's in Northwich town centre.

Chris Johnson, of Moss Haselhurst solicitors in Winsford, said: "It was something which was started as a joke by Jordan.

"Obviously it was rather misplaced and misguided.

"We are not aware of anyone taking up the call that they made.

"Northwich, as far as we understand, has remained peaceful."

'Over the top'

There has been criticism from MPs, barristers and campaigners that the sentences handed down to some of those involved in riots across England have been too severe.

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake said sentences "should be about restorative justice", not retribution, while Labour MP Paul Flynn said the government was "throwing away sentencing rules".

And leading criminal barrister John Cooper QC said he believed some sentences were "over the top" and likely to be overturned by the Court of Appeal.

But Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has said "exemplary sentences" are necessary and that people need to understand the consequences of rioting, looting and disorder.



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Virtual touch offers surgery hope

Tactile feedback technology could give keyhole surgeons a virtual sense of "feeling" tumours while operating.

A Leeds University study has combined computer virtualisation with a device that simulates pressure on a surgeon's hand when touching human tissue remotely.

This could enable a medic to handle a tumour robotically, and judge if it is malignant or benign.

Cancer specialists hope the new system will help to improve future treatment.

In current keyhole procedures, a surgeon operates through a tiny incision in the patient's body, guided only by video images.

Using keyhole techniques, as opposed to major invasive surgery, helps improve healing and patient recovery.

However, surgeons can't feel the tissue they are operating on - something which might help them to find and categorise tumours.

"The tactile feedback, the texture, the stiffness of tissue is taken away in laparoscopic surgery," said Dr Rob Hewson, co-superviser of the study.

Hard tissue

The team of undergraduates at Leeds University has devised a solution that combines a computer-generated virtual simulation with a hand-held "haptic" feedback device.

The system works by varying feedback pressure on the user's hand when the density of the tissue being examined changes.

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"You move the device around and, just like your computer mouse, it moves around the virtual 3D surface," engineering student Earle Jamieson told BBC News.

"The computer sends a signal to the device to tell it the force you are applying. You can actually feel the response forces you would have felt on your hand."

In tests, team members simulated tumours in a human liver using a soft block of silicon embedded with ball bearings. The user was able to locate these lumps using haptic feedback.

Engineers hope this will one day allow a surgeon to feel for lumps in tissue during surgery.

"Three or four surgeons tried an early version of our system, and thought it was potentially very useful," said Mr Jamieson.

"They are so used to using only visuals, they found it strange to be able to feel for something."

The project has just been declared one of four top student designs in a global competition run by US technology firm National Instruments.

However, Dr Hewson believes the work is still a long way from full medical use.

"There are a lot of technical challenges to overcome before this can be integrated into surgical devices."



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Samsung Galaxy Tab ban is on hold

The ban on the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 across Europe has been temporarily lifted while a court looks at whether the original ruling was appropriate.

The ban was brought in in Germany following a patent dispute with Apple. It accused Samsung of "slavishly" copying the design of its iPad.

But questions were raised over whether the Dusseldorf court had the right to instigate an EU-wide ban.

The ban still holds in Germany.

The Netherlands was always exempt as Apple sought to pursue broader claims there, largely because the country's ports are where many technology companies import their goods into the EU.

The overturning of the ban was originally reported by Webwerld, a Dutch IT news site.

Apple 'overreaching'

Patent law blogger Florian Mueller confirmed that the Dusseldorf court where the injunction was lodged had lifted the ban until a court hearing later this month.

"Apart from the immediate commercial benefits that this provides to Samsung, it's an unpleasant situation for Apple," he wrote.

Should the court really find that the Dusseldorf court didn't have personal jurisdiction over a Korean company, this would reinforce a lot of peoples' impression that Apple's enforcement of design-related rights is, even though understandable to a certain degree, overreaching in some areas."

Apple is also facing accusations that the document that helped it gain the original injunction on sales of the Galaxy Tab in Europe appears to misrepresent the device's similarity to the iPad.

A side-by-side comparison of the two tablets features a "squashed" picture of the Galaxy Tab, making it look identical in size and shape.

There are currently a huge number of patent disputes among smartphone and tablet makers.

The Galaxy's Australian release has been delayed because of a similar lawsuit.



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