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Jersey Pirates

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Although today Jersey is more known as a tax-haven than a staging point for rape, loot and pillages, during the 17th Century the Island was a hotbed of piracy. General de Caterest who served simultaneously as both Jersey's Bailiff and Lieutenant Governor at various times was able to experience this first hand in 1628 when the ship he was on was captured by Spanish 'Privateers" out of Dunkirk. The money and supplies he'd been carrying to restock Jersy's castles were taken and he himself was only released after paying a hefty ransom which respectively left him so destitute he considered entering the service of the Dutch. The General's experience, while harrowing, was nothing compared to the fate of sailors captured by Barbary pirates, who would often be sold at African slave markets. Collections were often held in Jersey to buy the freedom of captured sailors such as Richard Dumaresq, whose bothers and sisters were able to raise enough funds for his ransom. ...
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Should the Dark net be illegal?

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The 'Darknet' is an umbrella term for the visceral undergrowth of the Internet where connections to websites are routed through multiple computers. If used correctly, this makes it very difficult indeed for law enforcement to trace people and sites on the dark web. This, i n turn, has led to the rise of a number of pages offering illegal services such as underground markers for controlled drugs, illegal pornography sites containing indecent images and forums for hate speech. Given that these sites rely heavily on the anonymity of the darknet, why don't world governments pour all their resources into shutting it down? The first answer to this is that they can and do - several years ago web hosting provider Freedom Hosting was shut down for harbouring a number of illegal services such as indecent images. The FBI also successfully captured Ross Ulbricht, the man behind the dark net drugs market "Silk Road" and shut down his site. However, the "onion" m...
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Manche des Iles: A failed experiment

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A recent Channel News report has reported that only 332 passengers took advantage of the Manche des Iles express in Jersey and Guernsey over the Summer. As the service was underwritten by the States, both Islands are now down £20,000. That also means Islanders now must rely on Condor Ferries to travel between Jersey and Guernsey. This is potentially worrying given concern raised by people like Jersey Evening Post columnist Rob Duhamel about food shortages about food shortages post-Brexit. As Rob points out, even without the UK crashing out of the EU supermarket shelves can run bare in bad weather, mainly caused by over-reliance on ultra0light ferries which are unable to withstand the assault of stormy waves around the Channel Islands. Economic Minister Lynden Farham has suggested that Condor invests in another regular shop to keep goods and passengers moving but there's also a strong precedent for the States to do this themselves: over in Guernsey the government bought ...
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A truly miserable "Les Miserables"

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After reading Ron Shipley's column in the Jersey Evening Post, I too have been comparing the recent series (Sunday's 21:00 BBC1) very favourably with the 2012 musical version. Victor Hugo holds a special place in the hear of Channel Islanders, as he spent his exile both here in Jersey and in Guernsey, where Les Mis was written. The BBC version follows the book much more faithfully: the incident where Valjean bitterly takes 40 sons from the young Savoyard petit-Gervais isn't glossed over. Derek Jacobi has a stellar cameo as the Bishop and Thenardier is shown as being domestically violent towards his wife. The series paints an image of a truly miserable time, replete with assault, rape and murder: in one chilling scene Fontaine's front teeth are pulled out for the horrified viewing pleasure of viewers. This indecent assault on the senses is coupled with her descent into prostitution being shown in far more graphic detail than in it's twee musical version. It's...
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