November 13, 2011
Remembrance Sunday
Writing about web page http://www.amnesty.org.uk/detaineeinquiry
On a day for remembering the sacrifices of a generation, we should also remember that we do today define the country and ideals for which so many gave up their lives.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/detaineeinquiry
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15711317
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/nov/13/un-fears-british-torture-inquiry
http://www.detaineeinquiry.org.uk/
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture expressed concern about the “limitations that may frustrate the very object” of the inquiry.
Amnesty International has pointed out fundamental flaws in the Detainee Inquiry
- It is not transparent. The Government, rather than the inquiry panel, holds the power to decide what documents are published as part of this investigation. Much of the inquiry will take place behind closed doors.
- It lacks power. The panel doesn’t have the authority to compel witnesses to testify or to demand evidence from state and non-state parties.
- It doesn’t place enough emphasis on the victims of torture and rendition. Meaningful participation by those who have been mistreated and illegally detained is not central to the investigation. The very people whose cases are being investigated cannot challenge evidence given in secret by Government officials.
Those who lay down their lives in the First World War deserve a country much better than this.
May 09, 2009
O2 Huawei E169 USB modem Gentoo GNU/Linux
This post is for anyone having problems getting the O2-provided Huawei E169 USB modem to work under Linux. I’ll assumed you’ve searched elsewhere and have an idea of what is going on.
In my case, I had a Gentoo GNU/Linux desktop without internet access although I did have a Windows XP laptop to help me. The best thing to do is use the USB modem on the laptop, connect up your desktop by ethernet cable and share the Dial-up connection in order to download any packages you may need.
gentoo-sources-2.6.28 is a good enough kernel to get things to work.
emerge usbutils ppp wvdial
cd /usr/src/linux
sudo make menuconfig
(Refer to Gentoo handbook for full details of installing a new kernel.)
Device drivers ---> Network device support ---> <M> PPP (point-to-point protocol) support <M> PPP support for async serial ports USB support ---> <M> OHCI HCD support <M> USB Mass Storage support (provides usb-storage so it can be unloaded) <M> USB Serial Converter support (provides usbserial, very important) [*] USB Generic Serial Driver <M> USB driver for GSM and CDMA modems (provides 'option' module, v. important)
sudo make -j 3
(Install kernel.)
sudo make modules_install
(Which installs the kernel modules. Restart computer.)
should give
Bus 004 Device 006: ID 12d1:1001 Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. E620 USB Modem
(**) <- marker. Read ahead to see why this is here.
lsmod
should ideally not show ‘usb-storage’
sudo rmmod usb-storage
just in case.
sudo modprobe usbserial vendor=0×12d1 product=0×1001
then
ls /dev/ttyU*
should give
/dev/ttyUSB0 /dev/ttyUSB1 /dev/ttyUSB2
if only /dev/ttyUSB0 is shown, then unload modules ‘usbserial’ and ‘option’, unplug device and try again from the marker (**).
sudo wvdialconf
to get a template /etc/wvdial.conf for editing. Refer to https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DialupModemHowto/Huawei/E220/wvdial.conf and other websites to aid configuration.
APN (Access Point Name) mobile.o2.co.uk
user: o2web
pass: password
Phone number should be *99***1# otherwise try *99#
When you have your /etc/wvdial.conf set up properly, connect with
sudo wvdial
One section I have is
[Dialer internet] Init5 = AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","mobile.o2.co.uk" Stupid Mode = 1
Try
Carrier Check = no
in your defaults if you get no carrier errors.
Good luck!
October 06, 2007
L. K. Bennett at Bicester Village
My limited experience inside L. K. Bennett at Bicester Village has left me with a very bad impression of the customer service provided by L. K. Bennett.
The failing of L. K. Bennett’s customer care lead to a complaint to the management at Bicester Village, but even they were unable to draw out some token gesture of putting the customer before profit.
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Addition: 01 Jul 2008
Rating: one star out of five.
I worked at this store – the brent cross branch to be precise, and honestly the way the managers treat staff is unacceptable. My contract did not state we had to clean toilets and yet we were made to, the managers treated you like you were worthless and we didn’t have a say in anything in case we ‘over shadowed’ the managers judgement, both the assistant manager pataniya and the manager herself caroline were the worst to work with!! Some of my colleagues and myself also became quite ill as the shop floor was air conditioned and we had to keep going back and forth into a hot stuffy room to get shoes, etc!! Worst company to work with also, the prices charged for the beautiful shoes are no way near their true worth!!
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By Susan – written on 09.05.08
Rating: four stars out of five (bad attitude in London – go to Paris instead).
I have to agree with that review about the treatment that staff receive in certain branches as I have witnessed it , having wor(k)ed in London for quite a while myself. There is actually a general bad attitude from senior staff who regard the sales assistants as “disposable” and easily replacable. I have to say it is sufficient to see how the company’s owner herself looks at them (the sales assistants). I was shocked the first day I saw her as she greeted her in the store She looked at me from head to toe and just blanked me totally as if I was nothing else but a piece of furniture. That set the whole work atmosphere , doesn’t it!
Thankfully, I have met some fantastic people there who were great to work with like the Paris staff who are just adorable and very diffferent from my co-workers.
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By anne lowry – written on 06.03.08
Rating: one star out of five
Please Be Warned, I purchased a pair of all leather ankle boots with a slightly pointed toe. After wearing them to work for a couple of days I noticed the leather had scuffed off the toe area revealing a blue backing underneath – the leather was so thin there was nothing to polish! I went back to the shop twice to see the manager and rather than apologise for the inconvenience, she accused me of walking on my tip toes – kicking my desk – using escalators and driving in my boots! I would love to be so agile! I requested they were sent off to their quality department but was left waiting 3 weeks – after several calls chasing a response,I was told they were not going to do anything about it! disgraceful way to deal with legitimate complaints and an appalling way to deal with customers.
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Addition: 20 Jan 2008
Came across interesting posts on dooyou.co.uk
In case they become inaccessible from the links given, copies of the reviews are provided below.
DOES ANYONE WANT TO BUY MY CREDIT NOTE?!?!
Name: jess in harrogate
Product: L K Bennett
Date: 11.06.07 (64 review reads)
Rating: one star out of five
Advantages: some nice shoes and accessories
Disadvantages: extremely rude staff and a hopeless customer service helpline.
I have visited LK Bennett on many occasions, and have usually received good customer service. However, when buying a pair of shoes there recently i did ask specifically if i could receive a refund if the shoes did not match my dress. I was told that “of course i would receive a full refund,” and that it wouldn’t be a problem. The shoes did not match the dress and so i returned to the store to receive the refund i gad been promised. The manager told me that as this was not their policy to give refunds to unworn+unfaulty goods, i could not possibly have been told otherwise. Basically, she said i was lying. I now have a £168 credit note for a store i never want to set foot in again, any takers?
Summary: THIS SHOP IS TO BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS!!!!!
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LK Bennett – not worth the pain and awful credit note mentality
Name: Ice Princess
Product: L K Bennett
Date: 23.10.06 (390 review reads)
Rating: two stars out of five
Advantages: gorgeous shoes
Disadvantages: sales assistant who got me to buy size lower, awful exchange/credit note policy
I have to say, I agree with other reviewers, gorgeous shoes but high prices. Having said that, I have 1 pair of cream pointy toed high heeled shoes (never worn) and 1 pointy flat pair of blue shoes which when i wear them i have to be careful as they give me awful blisters.
Then there was the time i wanted a pair of beige strappy suede sandals and was persuaded to buy a size smaller which fitted in store but when i got home found they were far too tight (prob because i tried on late afternoon when feet were swollen). tried to take them back and got credit note, useless dratted credit note.
for that reason i tend now to avoid this shop, pointy shoes are not comfy if they give me blisters (i do have a gorgeous almond/pointy shaped pair of flat shoes from Accessorize that didn’t give me blisters…!) and if i can’t return (the shoes) unworn because they hurt me for full refund then sorry i will not buy from here again. You can get round this by buying from an LK Bennett concession in dept store like Selfridges who give 30 day refund/exchange no problem (i checked!).
If LK Bennett has changed her policy like Karen Millen has then I’d be more than happy to try and buy again.
Summary: not for me
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Something similar and very recent at reviewcentre.com it seems.
Good Points: None
Bad Points: Returns policy out of order
If you purchase any goods from LK Bennett during the sales and for any reason the item does not quite fit properly, you will need to throw it away as you cannot exchange it nor get a refund. A shame no one tells you that at the point of purchase nor it is printed on your receipt ( which in any event would be rather late to find out).
I purchased two pairs of boots yesterday, one of which I was not sure about and the sales assistant was quite aware of. I was quickly wisked at the till . Today I called the store to find out if I could get a refund on one of the items, as my receipt said nothing other than being attached to a product care leaflet, and was advised I cannot even exchange the item.
I will simply buy nothing from any of their stores in future, this way, I may have wasted £110 this time round but the company will make no money out of me in future.
Shameful policy.
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By Princess07724 Rank: Lance Corporal on 21st Dec 2007
Good Points: They have some very nice items.
Bad Points: They are over-priced and badly made.
LK Bennett was once upon a time one of my favorite shops, but after having to deal with their customer services regarding some faulty (£110) shoes, I will never buy anything from this shop again. I have been refused a refund or exchange, and the unfriendly customer service advisor then proceeded to post the shoes back to my home address (non recorded delivery), and now the shoes are missing, and I can not get anyone to respond to my phone calls…not really what I expect from a high end High Street shop.
March 02, 2007
Curious
I am a member of staff. Can I use SquirrelMail?
No. Members of Staff are required to use the staff system to ensure legal compliance requirements (???!!!) are met. Staff typically require more functionality from their email system than students. Hence the decision was made to provide a different email service for each group of users.
Note: If required, it is possible to use a different client to access the staff email system, for example via POPS or IMAPS.
February 14, 2007
Saw some random comments on blog
so thought I’d come back in and have a check. Wonder when my last entry was .. will check later.
Things have been fun here at Warwick. I’m sure there’s loads of blog stuff about the email system and all that jazz with things failing and emergency backups not working quite as well as one would want an emergency backup to work (read again if needed).
Lots of interesting things with echo-spam (TM and patent pending) where the system gives you repeats of the best and worst of all spam for repeated and further enjoyment. If we didn’t know better, we might have thought the spam filters have some sort of reverse function with legitimate emails (both outward and inward) blocked and spam allowed through. This certainly seems to be the case with the listserver (with ‘posts’ rather than emails per se).