Documenting from Scotland the rise of the One World King; the "masonic" Sun God.

Sunday 30 September 2007

Ian Brown - Dolphins Were Monkeys

BBC TV News Review - Saturday 29th September

I was not too focused on the news last night, perhaps tiredness had set in slightly, or maybe it was just one of these nights when one cant be bothered. Anyway, a short report, for a short news programme, as it always is at the weekend.

First up was David Cameron and his Conservative Party; their annual shindig is this forthcoming week at the once popular and now seemingly deserted seaside town of Blackpool. Talk was of radical new policies to be unveiled, the backbones of which were revealed today, tax measures to encourage the sick back to work, tax measures to encourage couples to stay together and a raise on the stamp duty threshold when buying a property, up to a quarter of a million pounds now, thus saving new homebuyers a wee bit more money than now, and therefore ensuring our high street money lenders a 25 year almost guaranteed income, in terms of mortgage interest repayments.

Burma followed, we went to reporter Jonathan Head in Bankok, for the usual ongoing social tension update. It seems that although the monks have packed it in for the moment, other civilian protestors continue, "driven by a boiling anger against soldiers they hate". The United Nations have sent a representative over to speak to the ruling military authority, an authority which has "shown they are prepared to kill their own people". Yet we send our own children to fight in illegal wars and perhaps die.
A bomb has exploded in the Maldives, two British tourists were slightly injured. The talk was of jihadists but unsubstantiated. The boy who cried wolf, but reversed.

Blue tongue, the virus carried by midges from Africa to Europe and then Great Britain, seems to be spreading. Our government has increased the size of the protection zone to 150 miles. I am bewildered as to how this can prevent the spread because midges fly. Wait for the human virus, spread by rats, then we may well see what this really is all about. Protection zone - confinement zone. Reversed

Pakistan, more social disorder, must be the astrological time for it. A quantity of images here as immaculately dressed men fought with riot police. Tear gas was in abundance.

To close, a major shock at the Rugby World Cup, as Wales come home, "their cup; a failure". A bit like current society then ?

cheers







Jonathan Head, Murray Head, Black & White majik


Saturday 29 September 2007

BBC TV News Review - Friday 28th September

Fiona Bruce was back for the Friday night BBC News, however the lead story remained the same, the ongoing social disorder in Burma. The format and content was much the same as the last ten days or so, with images of protestors and military force. It seems now though that "protesters are being hunted down" and additionally, that the internet and mobile phone lines of communication, which were keeping the media and outside world supplied with information, have been disabled in some manner, thus there was very little fresh news or images.

We went to a reporter based in Thailand for an update anyway, and were forewarned by Fiona that the images we were about to see showed a man being shot. Sure enough, we saw the unfortunate Japanese photographer slump to the pavement, caught by a "stray" bullet. It seems that Japan is sending a government minister over to investigate this; our own Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has advised that he believes the death toll is far higher than admitted by the Burmese authorities, although he provided no evidence for this rationale. To close, we heard the "uprising is not over yet" and heard talk of possible United Nations involvement.

Next up was Soham child killer, Ian Huntley, who has attempted suicide again whilst in the care of Her Majesty's pleasure. Reporter Danny Savage told how "questions would be asked", about how he was able to obtain the prescription medication he utilised in his quest for death; given that he is on 24 hour suicide watch. Images of Holly and Jesscia, the murdered girls, were shown as were some television reports of the original case. Readers will recall his initial behaviour, helping the police etc, in a similar manner to that of Robert Murat, the original Madeleine McCann scapegoat. Coincidentally, he worked as a school janitor, the same role as that of Miles Cooper, the letter bomber from yesterdays news, who, incidentallly, received an long prison sentence.

It seems that the cases of blue tongue disease have now accumulated to an extent it can officially be called an outbreak, and as such, we were treated to more images of sick animals, just to remind us what they look like with half a mouth and nose. We heard that that the virus is spread by midges, and that "eradicating them is difficult". It seems that infected insects somehow blew from Africa to Northern Europe and from there jumped over, the English Channel. Our reporter told of two possible solutions, the first a vaccine, except one has not yet been developed, the second was our weather and hopes that a cold spell may kill the midge.

Afghansitan followed and Helmand province in particular. It seems that the ground our military forces have taken in the region may well have to be surrendered. Images of some of the soldiers who lost their lives in the capture of the land were shown, as was an simulated 3D graphic of a river valley and some mountains. We heard that as our forces slowly worked their way up the valley, the insurgents simply hid their weapons and vanished into the clouds. This is apparantly "the nature of insurgency and guerilla warfare". Furthermore, the local Afghan army, who have been trained by "our forces", and who "we" are relying on to defend the acquired territory, are "poorly equipped and mostly corrupt". To close, we saw a bearded native who wished the Taliban would return as it seems things were better then. Frying pan and fire ?

Coming up, new Highway code and new rules over lighting up.

First though, a storm is brewing over a faked photograph and our Culture Secretary, James Purnell. It seems Mr Purnell arrived late for a group photograph so the picture was taken without him, then, when he arrived, another one was taken, soley of him. They two pictures were then merged, an apparently simple technique, and gave the effect that he was in fact intially present. The main thrust of this story seems to be that James is "not just any old MP" and in fact lectured the media quite recently on their behaviour. Could this be a warm up to the Madeleine McCann last photograph and the claims of doctoring. Maybe, because the last images we saw of James were of him playing tennis, a favorite pastime of Gerry.

Conservative party next, their turn for their annual conference, to be held next week in Blackpool. We heard of "a string of new policies" and "crunch time for Cameron" before talk moved to the issue of an early election. Just on a sidenote, I heard that David Cameron cancelled the his partys traditional order of branded confectionary rock this year, as he felt it was out of place. Where are the thinkers in his party - they should have ordered branded Northern rock.

Lady Thatcher has advised that she feels Gordon Brown should hold a referendum on the E.U. Treaty, again scant information was supplied on this potentially nefarious situation, the proverbial double edged sword approaches.

Our prisons are again bursting at the seams despite the early release of some prisoners in June.

A long feature next about our Family Court system and children being removed from their parents by social workers. It appears that sometimes miscarriages of justice occur and as such, some wish greater clarity into the workings of the system, which at present, seem to be a similar operation to that of the freemasons, shrouded in secrecy and suchlike. Images of toddlers were in abundance.

As promised, the feature on the revised highway code. Despite the headline grabber earlier, smoking in ones vehicle is not to be banned, rather the hazards of indulging in such are clearly identified along with putting on make up and eating at the wheel.

To close was rugby, England won.

cheers










Doctored ?
















Friday 28 September 2007

BBC TV News Review - Thursday 27th September

Huw Edwards was the presenter on the BBC News at 10 yesterday; again the lead story was that of the Burma situation as we heard that violence has intensified and that "many leading monks have been arrested".

As reporters are banned from the country, we went to next door neighbour, Thailand, where reporter Andrew Harding was on hand to tell us more. It seems that very few monks had been seen on the streets yesterday, reason being that overnight, a number had been "dragged from their beds, beaten and arrested". We saw images of the remaining civilian protesters, ordered to disperse from the streets with 10 minutes notice, before soldiers unleased a volley of shots, "mostly over their heads". Curiously, we were told an "eye witness" had telephoned Andrew to advise him a man had been shot and, sure enough, we then saw images of a body lying in the street. I could not quite follow the logic of this, given the location of our reporter but anyhow, we were told that the corpse, if that was what it was, was "possibly a Japanese photographer". This part of the report closed with images of a police raid on a hotel, packed with media it seemed along with a clip of Burmese state television, where they called the BBC liars.

It was time for reporter Gavin Hewitt to refresh our minds as to the reasons behind this "uprising for democracy" and he told how, initially, rising prices had forced some of the half a million monks of the country, out on to the streets. It seems that some of these initial religious protestors had been hurt in the action and that an apology had been requested from the authorities. None was forthcoming and this had fueled further demonstrations which seemingly now could be classed as a "pro democracy campaign". Further information was provided, some of the police are Buddhists and wont attack the monks, additionally, the monks are "denying contributions" from anyone connected with the "military regime" leading to a potential, perhaps perceived, "spiritual neglect"

We moved on to our government as we heard that Jack Straw, our Justice Secretary,has announced plans to clarify the current laws over individuals intervening in cases of law breaking. Reference was made to Angus Campbell who tackled one of the July 21st shoe bombers and an interview was shown with an individual who's identity had been concealed from the camera, but had stabbed a prospective burglar at his business. The individual, who wore a cowboy hat, told us "woe betide anyone who takes the law into his own hands". However, the BBC advised us that "reasonable force could be employed" and that even if you "kill the intruder", that should be okay as long as there was no malice or revenge associated. I am slightly doubtful about this, so would not recommend it, although we were assured that there "are very few prosecutions" for anyone carrying out a citizens arrest.

We stayed with the Government and travelled to meet Nick Robinson, the BBC political editor, to hear of the possibility of an early general election. A local election was held in Portsmouth yesterday and Nick felt that the result of this could have a huge bearing on the decision. As such, we some some exiting voters interviewed for their opinions, an old dear said "yes, then we could have a proper Prime Minister" in reference to Gordon Brown stepping in to Tony Blair's shoes before we then saw some Labour politicians interviewed, Harriet Harman and Jacki Smith both seemed confident that Gordon would make the right decision. It seems that the Labour Party have ordered some temporary staff for next week and this has led to increased speculation; Nick closed by telling us of a "throw of the electoral dice".

Coming up - "all over for energy wasting lightbulbs".
First though, some other potential energy wasters; old people. We heard how basically, once you are past it, you are treated like shite, with a total lack of privacy and dignity; and to verify this an interview was shown with a young man, Steven Baldwin, who had watched his father Stanley, waste away, and finally die, whilst in a retirement care home. It seems that out of 23 care homes inspected, 18 were found to offer a sub-standard service. Our caring government has demanded that OAP's are treated with "dignity and respect", giving the illusion that the rest of us are.

Miles Cooper from Cambridge followed, he was the school janitor who was found with a "bomb factory" in his bedroom. Miles pleaded guilty to sending letter bombs to a variety of government agencies, giving his reason as worries over "government controls over individuals".

Another case of the dreaded blue tongue disease has been discovered in a cow, close to the other handful of cases.
Elton John was next, one of his artworks, Klara and Edda belly-dancing, has been seized by the police due to its potential paedophile content. We saw the photograph, its offending section had been blacked out but we were told it showed a young girl with her legs spread. The BBC showed the non edited version to various members of the passing public, some seemed pretty shocked and one advised that it "might stimulate people who were that way inclined. It seems we live in "fevered times" when it comes to this type of matter and we saw an American lady, obviously with a touch of the aformentioned disease, who ranted "what parent allows their children's genitals to become art".

The promised lightbulb story followed, it seems that they will be phased out by 2011; somehow we cut to America and Condoleezza Rice to hear of further green proposals

1) Technology - everyone wants green technology

2) America want India and China to agree to any global solutions, although we were told this
may not be feasible due to their current climb "out of poverty"

3) Voluntary - and we saw protestors with placards, one said its a PR scam.

I hope readers can make some sense out of it, I am afraid could not.

Britain's state was next, not police but economic - it seems that we may require lower interest rates if we are to prevent a house price crash as the market is "vulnerable".

To close was a seemingly light hearted feature on a hoax website which has been constructed by a man living in Thailand, and shows pictures and details of a ficticious beach called Porthemmet, in Cornwall. It seems that some individuals have been taken in by the fraud and have tried to locate the seaside resort which does not exisit, the name being a pun on the local Cornwellian slang for a tourist - an emmet. We closed by hearing that after the great white shark hoax which was also recently in the news, "Cornwall could get a name for itself". It seems to your writer that this is firstly discrediting the internet and secondly, could it be that something is strange is going to happen, in Cornwall ?

cheers







Miles - The mild mannered janitor

Thursday 27 September 2007

BBC TV News Review - Wednesday 26th September

Huw Edwards was again our host on the BBC News at 10 and again the first story concerned the ongoing tension in Burma, where, yesterday, matters escalated and violence was used by the "military government", in an attempt to quell the unrest.

We saw images of this, Buddhist monks and civilians, at first "openly defying the military", then running for their lives; gunshots could be heard and clouds of tear gas seen on a mobile telephone video recording which had been surreptitiously taken, no foreign journalists being allowed in the country. An eye witness told how when the monks were at first challenged by the authorities they simply recited prayers. A burning motorcycle was also displayed - believed to belong to a police informer. An street map was provided in order that we could follow proceedings, and we were advised that when protestors reached the British Embassy, they stood outside and cheered although no reason was given for this puported action. To close this section of the report we saw a Burmese blogger - it appears that they are telling the truth of the situation to the outside world, via computer.

We moved on slightly to an analysis of General Than Shwe, the leader of the ruling junta and an expert in "psychological warfare". However, we were told that he is "superstitous, regularly seeking the advice of astrologers". Claims were then made of his involvement in global marketing of drugs although no examples were given, before we viewed images of a new capital city being built soley for the ruling classes and were told by reporter, James Robbins , "what better symbol of how distant, how estranged, this government has become." We closed with talk of UN involvement.

Let us look at this reporting. It is almost implied that this type of controlling government does not happen here. Yet, only a few months ago, a Hindu sacred cow was slaughtered, hundreds of riot police helped to capture the animal despite monks and prayers. We regularly hear how most of the information available on the internet via blogging and suchlike is nonsense, yet we are encouraged to believe it in this instance. Astrology is claimed to be a superstition, yet anyone who has scratched the surface of this subject knows that it is far more than that, it has simply been degenerated in "our world" - predictions being made only on sun signs, which, to be honest, is not even 0.1% of the subject. And, finally, we hear that a new capital city is being built whilst the majority of the Burmese live in squalor and poverty, thus implying our social structure is overwhelmingly different. Is it, if you think about it and open your eyes ?

We moved on to our Government and were told that Gordon Brown "refuses to be drawn on an early election", is "deliberately shaking off ties to Tony Blair" and comparisons were made with him and Lady Margaret Thatcher. Again we heard Gordon's plans for a "stonger, fairer Britain" and "shared values". See Huxley's Brave New World, or Orwells 1984, for more information on Gordons long term objectives.

Madeleine McCann folloed after a tourist took a picture in Morocco of a young blonde gir who some believed may be missung Madeleine. Journalists investigated and found the girl was not in fact her, it only seemed to take them a few hours to discover this.

A long feature on allergies followed as it seems the UK has one of the "highest rates in the world". We saw some victims interviewed and heard of possible causes, "lack of exposure to bugs when young", mollycoddling in other words, "poor diet", junk food, chemical additives and "pollution" which curiously was far worse historically. However, it seems that there are a lack of allergy specialists in the UK and more are required to combat this "21st century epidemic".

GMTV, a morning television show, has been fined 2 million pounds for indulging in nefarious telephone phone-in quiz practices. It seems that many competion entrants were not included in the final prize draw after paying up to £1.80 to enter.

Zimbabwe, more on the ongoing situation, it seems that President Mugabee is beginning a process to transfer foreign businesses to local ownership. Again we were reminded of the presidents inherent evil, badness oozing from every pore of the man, it appears.

Next up was a disturbing feature on the number of American soldiers who are developing mental problems and comitting suicide on return from military action. We saw on one such chap, Private Sam Ross, who was now in the case of the Mayview State Hospital in Pittsburg. Sam had returned from actions as a "war hero", blind in both eyes and with other horrific injuries and told how he had tried to kill himself 18 times, methods included hanging and overdose. It was obvious that he was on vast quantities of medication in order to calm him down and was revealed that he had burnt his parents house down. Sam then rolled up his trouser leg for the camera and showed his artifical foot and calf, this is taken from him at night, in case it is used as a weapon.

Some statistics were then provided, last year 98 American servicemen killed themselves, although 1000 attempted to. We heard of links to post traumatic stress disorder and interviewed a Doctor of Suicidology, I kid you not. We turned back to Sam to hear of his Jacob's Ladder style dreams, it appears the smell of burnt flesh lingers in one's mind (a bit like bacon to a reformed vegetarian) and to close we saw an image of the old Sam, resplendent in Army uniform and the new Sam, shuffling round a gymnasium, barely able to function. They didnt say if he had any nephews.

African floods then followed and our reporter Will, another Ross coincidentally, had visited Togo, one of the "poorest nations on earth" where locals live on 50p per day. Countless images of starving and malnourished children in a hospital were shown, fears are that this will get worse due to the adverse weather. We went to a remote village, to hear more of possible food shortages and to view the flooding. Curiously, we saw native children playing in their "new swimming pool" created by floodwater one would assume and therefore temporary. Yet the native children, who I would not describe as thin, were wearing swimsuits.

To close was climate change, again this was blamed on excess CO2 and we heard of a new plan to attempt to negate the gas in the atmosphere - a system of sucking algae from the bottom of the ocean and dropping them at the top, the theory being that they will absorb carbon dioxide on thir way back down. David Shukman, the BBC science editor told us more of this "engineering on a global scale" and interviews with two professors were shown, one enthusiastic, the other warned of the potential ramifications of tinkering with an eco system.
cheers

















Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh - One of her Majesty's holiday homes

















Niddrie, just over the Queens Park .

How distant, how estranged ?







Wednesday 26 September 2007

BBC TV News Review - Tuesday September 25th

It was Huw Edwards again on the BBC News at 10, the double act with Fiona having been dropped after Gordon's speech yesterday, maybe a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth; although the broth is generally extremely unpalatable at the best of times.

Nevertheless, we embarked on our global voyage with first stop Rangoon in Burma and the ongoing social unrest. It appears that again thousands were on the streets today and the government has enforced a curfew in order to quell the disturbances. Our reporter, Jonathan, told how "army trucks full of soldiers" had arrived, images of these were shown along with more of the actual marches which were taken on a mobile phone, overseas media not being welcome. Again, reference was made to the "moral authority" of the Buddhist monks who are leading events, or are portrayed as doing such, before we saw a clip of Burmese "state television" who blamed the situation on "destructive elements". Monkey Business ?

Gordon Brown and George Bush have both spoken out against the situation and, via the UN, are urging other countries to join them and impose further sanctions on the ruling authorities and their families. We saw George meeting the UN Secretary General, - "Hey General, how you doing" and a strong gripped handshake, before images of Burmese poverty were shown. Pressure seems to be mounting on next door neighbours China to intervene, however it seems that China has invested in, and is dependent on, gas which it purchases; to close the feature we saw images of the last uprising in 1988, where we saw soldiers shooting civilians, thousands were killed.

The Labour party conference followed, Nick Robinson was our host, and the main topic was the speech by David Milliband, the new Foreign Secretary, who told how there was no "military solution" in Iraq or Afghanistan and hat we need to move on with humility. Nick called this Blair's legacy. Mr Milliband however clarified his opinions by stating that the solutions are in fact "economic, social and political" and that military action was in fact needed in order to "create the space" for these. Mention was made by Nick of President Mugabee and Gordon Brown's refusal to meet him personally before he briefly touched on Darfur.

We stayed with Nick, this time live from Bournemouth although the subject changed to that of an early election. It seems that results of a poll, post Gordon Brown speech, have shown Labour to have an eleven point lead and that this shift in opinion is predominantly made up of women. Aretha's Franklin's Son of a Preacher Man sprung to mind. However, 57% of pollsters dont think now is the right time for an election, so Nick told how the question is, "is it more cautious to go to the polls or not" and "only he can answer that". Much ado about nothing really.

Uganda was next up, a state of emergency has been called due to flooding. Images were shown of a "road" which had turned into a river, in fact "crossing the road means battling waves". We saw natives attempting this feat, "braving the waters" and "strong current with the level rising" before seeing a man "swim for his life", after being "consumed by a torrent". He was "lucky to survive" as we saw him clamber out the river, curiously no one went to help, not even the camera crew. There has been "nothing like this since the sixties" we were told to close.

Coming up - battle of the computer games rivals Hollywood.

First though was a feature on carbon offsetting, it seems that President Bush is hosting some sort of conference for the ministers of the worst offending countries in terms of pollution. It appears though that a solution to this ongoing problem is at hand, in the form of "carbon offsetting". David Shurbrook, the BBC science editor revealed more about this, it seems that as long as one purchases a manually operated "foot pad water pump" for a poor Indian farmer, then one can pollute the world because the pollution produced is somehow negated by the water pump. Questions were raised as to the ethics of this - is it fair that an Indian gentleman toils in the heat while you bask in Florida? The answer supplied seemed to be yes.

We continued with a visit to a state run chemical company somewhere, unfortunately I was busy writing and missed the location. However, the plant featured had spent 1.5 million on green measures to improve pollution output and in return had received "a bunch of carbon credits" which it sold on to a British Company for 10 million. Images of the plant,post reformation were shown, it seemed to still be spewing volumes of noxious substances. Talk moved to "carbon cowboys" and a "growing industry" before, to close, we were reminded that this was all worthwhile and making a difference to global warming. Tells you all you need to know really.

The father of the 4 year old boy who was stabbed to death on Sunday will appear in court charged with his murder and the attempted murder of his daughter. An image of the boy was shown.

A third case of blue tongue disease has been reported, we heard of restrictions on animal movement being imposed along with more on Foot and Mouth disease. Images of diseased animals were shown. Another Cook, Jeremy, reported on this story.

The Northern Rock has announced that it will not pay an interim dividend to shareholders.

More Blue, Peter not tongue or tooth, was next, again we heard details of the cat name scam; children were asked to vote for a name, they chose Cookie, someone at BP overruled this and the cat was called Socks. We saw a short clip of the show, presenter Zoe Salmon apologising to viewers for stitching them up like a kipper. (a smoked herring)

As promised, the computer game story. It seems that last night at midnight, Halo 3, a new game, was released to the UK public. Reporter Richard Scott told us of the economics and how computer games are a billion dollar plus business now, not far short of music and DVD sales. Some trick photography allowed Richard appear as if part of the game, and he stood as "humanity took on aliens" obviously with the prerequisite military hardware. Curiously, he stood on a chessboard type floor. Black and White ?

To close, the Emmy awards for television, the BBC itself scooped a couple.

cheers





Too many Browns ?










Tuesday 25 September 2007

BBC TV News Review - Monday 24th September

It was a double bill of presenters last night on the BBC News at 10. From Bournemouth was Huw Edwards, covering the Labour party conference and, from London, Fiona Bruce was on hand to follow, with the "rest of the days news".

Huw told us how this was Gordon Browns first speech as leader of the labour party, "delivered against a blue background" instead of the traditional Labour red, the intention being to tempt voters who would traditionally vote Conservative, before we went immediately to Nick Robinson, the BBC political editor, who kindly analysed the speech for us.

"To go or not to go, that is the question" according to Nick, the subject being an early general election. However, Mr Brown, "in the job for less than 100 days", gave no clues as to whether or not this was on the cards. Instead, his speech revolved around British and Britishness (used 71 times) , in particular the strength of the British people and, to illustrate this further, Gordon introduced the Glasgow airport baggage handler John Smeaton, as an example. John stood in his kilt and accepted a standing ovation from party delegates, whilst Nick reminded us of our fears, namely "terror, floods and foot and mouth disease". Smeaton is the celebrity face of heroism against terrorism, he has a column in the Scottish Sun and is recording a Scotland football record for the World Cup, I believe, as well as being in Richard Branson's good books. (Although so are the nefarious McCann's)

We saw selected highlights of the speech, newcomers to the UK who are involved in drugs or guns will simply be thrown out, stiff penalties for shops who sell alcohol to children and maternity pay to be increased were some examples. What Gordon wants is 1st class citizens who "work hard and play by the rules" and who are patriotic; it seems that he is on a mission to "defend our ways of life". Somehow, he manged to tie this all up with the Bible and used a quotation where Jesus says "suffer the little children to come unto me". Mr Brown explained further that he had never read a Bible where it says "some of them", in reference to the children before he moved on to the NHS, praising them for saving one of his eyes when he was a child and presumably therefore, sparing him the schoolboy indignity of being called Cyclops Brown.

We moved on slightly from the speech to talk of an early election. Several prominent Labour MP'S were interviewed afterwards, most thought the party should go for it although some seemed concerned about the winter weather possibly affecting turn out; however we moved back to Nick, who had by now met up with Huw, to hear some more speculation as to whether this would happen or not. Nick told how we would need to wait and see, it appears that the Prime Minister will have one (or both) of his eyes, firmly fixed on polls which should help to determine how he is faring.

Thankfully it was time for the rest of the news from Fiona and we began with tornadoes, it seems that a number have "sprung from nowhere" before unleashing themselves on Southern Britain. Reporter Robert Hall covered the story, we saw the aftermath, some tiles lifted from a roof or two and a lady told how her trampoline had been lifted up and deposited in her neighbours garden. Being honest, there didnt seem to be much real damage at all, a storm in a teacup springs to mind, however we did have time for some hearsay as we were told that one unidentified eye witness had described it as "like something out of the Wizard of Oz". The tornadoes, not Mr. Browns New World Order smoke and mirrors speech. As a side note, large trampolines were available in B&Q at a bargain price some months ago and it seems from your authors own observances, that many are languishing, unused, in front gardens. Saves cutting the grass if you are that way inclined.

Burma was to follow and the ongoing social unrest and demonstrations. Again we saw the monks marching, now joined by civilians but were reminded that last time this type of protest was seen, three thousand were killed. It seems that there is "anger with the regime" due to poverty and poor social conditions and that the monks are the "highest moral authority" in the country. This will no doubt be ongoing for some time.

Next up, Blue tongue disease. Not comedian Jim Davidson, but cows who have become infected with this new-to-our-shores disease which is carried by midges. Images of animals with horrific mouth mutilation were shown.

A driver has been sent to jail for 10 weeks for travelling at 172mph in a 70mph zone. Timothy Brady, aged 33, took the Porsche 911 from his employers without consent and was then caught in a speed trap where his velocity was recorded. Mr Brady was accompanied to court by his elderly parents who appeared to require sticks to walk. 10 weeks is actually 5 with good behaviour, he may even be tagged and released prior to this, maybe 3 weeks total stretch.

A primary school janitor is under arrest after police raided his home and found his bedroom had been transformed into a bomb factory. Some images of the aftermath of the raid were shown however few actual details were revealed as to why he had established the incendiary production unit.

The father of a four year old boy who was stabbed to death on Sunday is still being questioned by police. Images of the boy were shown, his 14 year old sister is still in hospital after also being attacked.

It seems that our economy is looking rather shady at present as we heard how last month, Brtain suffered its "biggest deficit since records began" an astonishing 14 years ago. Economic editor, Evan Davies, told how when Gordon Brown was chancellor, he budgeted for a 4 billion pound overdraft, actually it is 6.5 billion. More economic statistics were revealed, it seems that we are approaching troubled times and Evan thought that this itself may be a catalyst for an early election.

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has visited Columbia University in New York to give a talk to students. We saw demonstrators accusing MA of being a Nazi and comparing him with Hitler, apparently there are more Jews in NY than in Jerusalem and they were none to happy about the visit, further accusations included that Mr A of denying the Holocaust. Judge and Jewry? We saw Mahmoud being introduced to some "anti Zionists" with a "twinkle in his eye" before he was introduced on stage with the words "revulsion at what you stand for". We didnt really see much of the speech itself although it does appear that he has not in fact denied the event, just asked for more research to be done which seems fair enough.

Next up, and to close, the story of a "father in a cold sweat", a Mr Hickman, who helped deliver his baby after the midwife got stuck in traffic. Mr H telephoned 999 and we heard a recording of proceedings as the father-to-be encouraged events - "come on baby" and "it's quite messy". It was a boy and Fiona told how this type of event was in fact quite regular, it appears that one baby a week is born in this manner, with assistance via the telephone. I could not quite understand why the feature was shown but perhaps the new born's name may give some clues. Baby Leo, the same as Tony and Cherie Blairs baby which was born when they still governed our country. Fiona closed by telling us that she had just met another baby before presenting the show, baby Jacob, aged 5 months, which, to be honest, also was totally irrelevant. So, we have Brown and his schooldays, Jesus, Baby Leo and Baby Jacob, a biblical name. Is it just me ?
cheers










Jesus & the Devil ?














Hallucinations






Monday 24 September 2007

Only bit of news today

Lachlan Alexander (Sandy) Newspaceboy - Born 23/09/2007 9.54pm All well - photo will follow

Normalish service resumes tomorrow

cheers

Sunday 23 September 2007

The Christians - Hooverville

And like fools....

BBC TV News Review - Saturday 22nd September

It was Gordon Brown and politics to begin the BBC late afternoon news yesterday and again I missed the presenters name, again I apologise. Nevertheless, we heard how the Labour Party conference will begin tomorrow at Bournemouth and speculation is looming over an early election.

We headed for the seaside resort to meet reporter Guto Harris, he told of how the Government "turned round" the Northern Rock crisis and handled others admirably, including that of foot and mouth. It seems that public opinion is with the Labour Party at present and they may well take their chance for re election. Additionally, plans are to be unveiled which should reassure savers who are still concerned over the financial market turmoil; our government is looking at increasing the monetary levels of the deposit protection scheme. This should allow savers to deposit up to £100,000 in a savings account with no risk of losses and hopefully provide some stability to the volatile economic market.

We saw Gordon arriving at the hotel, holding hands with his wife, and applauded in by a group of young party activists before we cut to another young man, this one opening an account at the Northern. He was questioned as to whether his funds would be secure and replied in the affirmative, stating that his savings would be "guaranteed by the Government". This is not actually true, the Government have only guaranteed existing savers funds, not new deposits, however the BBC did not point out this error in any manner, and some viewers may have been left believing a potentially costly untruth. Images of sailing boats and police officers were shown throughout the feature and we closed by seeing the sun setting on the horizon as again reference was made to the potential forthcoming election.

Foot and mouth followed, again Gordon Brown was involved, reason being that a meeting of the government crisis team, Cobra, was held yesterday to review the position. What the outcome of the meeting was we were not made privy to, although another fresh outbreak was discovered yesterday. We heard from Government vet Debby Reynolds who told how more animals had been culled. Are readers aware that rats and hedgehogs can carry the virus ?

Education was next, it appears that some headteachers have complained about the standard of exam marking when carried out online. Enquries are to be carried out to establish whether or not this is actually the case although we were told it seems unlikely.

Iran was next on the agenda, yesterday was the annual military parade and President Ahmadinejad told how if any country attacks his, they will experience "nothing but regret". The BBC told how this could somehow be translated into "Iran squares up against the West" although I do not think that was actually the intended meaning. Anyhow, the president had brought out his collection of military hardware and armed forces for the event so we saw a procession of missiles and similar weaponry passing by along with the revolutionary guard.
We were reminded that there would be "no compromise (by the West) over the nuclear issue" to close.

Burma followed, a rerun of an earlier feature this week, again we saw monks marching in protest over social conditions.

It was sport to close, rugby first, including the National Anthem - God save the Queen, before turning to another imminent retiree, Tim Henman, at the tennis, then finishing with football.

cheers


charming Cobra

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH


From Orwell's 1984

Saturday 22 September 2007

BBC TV News Review - Friday 21st September

I didnt catch the chaps name who presented the BBC News at 10 last night however I dont believe I have seen him before and will perhaps never again. Anyhow, first up we were told how the head of the British Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, has complained about the "growing gulf between the Army and the Nation". It seems that the General wishes us all to have a better understanding and therefore respect for our military and used the mongrel nation America as an example, images of flag waving buffoons, whooping and cheering at their troops homecoming, were displayed to show us how it should be done.

We saw images of war, well British forces "destroying the remnants of war", as they confiscated abandoned munitions and mortars from captured Taliban positions in Iraq I think( although one war ravaged desert looks very similar to any other) before we were reminded of the welcome-home-heroes behaviour seen after the Falklands war, when it appeared that the whole nation was behind our armed forces. It seems "todays wars are different" though, there is "no clear mission" and furthermore, the man in the street does'nt understand or care.

Talk moved on to the actual troops, it seems they have a "military covenant" but no real covenant with the public. Mention was made of 1500 troops on active operations in Afghanistan, engaged "flushing out Taliban" and so we travelled there with reporter Alistair Leafhead (remember your camouflage hat) on board a Chinook helicoper to drop off vital rations to front line troops; they only had an hours worth left seemingly. Alistair told how it is not only missiles the helicopter pilots have to deal with, there is also the problem of dust clouds. Despite this, it was a successful mission, the rations dropped, and several exhausted soldiers were picked up to return to base. They didnt seem to have too much to say to our intrepid reporter however the Chinook crew confided they had in fact never dealt with so many casualties.

On a similar military vein - the two soldiers killed in Afghansistan on Wednesday were named.

Next up was the tragic story of a boy who jumped into a lake to save his sister and unfortunately drowned himself. The police arrived, in the form of two community officers, unfortunately they were not trained in water rescue techniques and as such, did not enter the pond to save him, instead waiting for a fully trained police officer to arrive. We saw the relevant Chief Constable defend his employees actions, citing health and safety issues along with the fact there was no visible signs of the boy, however the childs mother was interviewed, obviously emotional and extremely angry at the first two officers behaviour. Images of a floating floral tribute were shown.

Next up was worries over the stockpile of plutonium that Britian has amassed in the Sellafield nuclear plant, seemingly one hundred tons, enough to make 16,000 nuclear bombs, is just sitting there, in a heap. Fears seem to be that there may be an accident, or, even worse, that somehow terrorists would get hold of the radioactive material to create a bomb. We were then told that this latter senario was unlikely due to the inherent instability and toxity of the spent plutonium, nevertheless, the obligatory cross references to 9/11 and al-Quaeda were made, as images of Taliban training camps were displayed, it appears al-Q have flirted with chemical and nuclear bomb techniques but not yet put them into full operation.

Coming up - German anatomist and the plastic population.

First though was football as Chelsea FC announced their new manager. It was just as well they proclaimed it because the new boss, Avram Grant, did not have too much to say on the matter. Luckily however, Jose Mourinho, the old gaffer, had arranged his own press conference, and, perhaps displaying work ethics similar to those of our loyal military employees, told how "I am a man of war in football but in life, a man of peace. Afterwards, our reporter advised that "off he went, into the night".

Some sort of explosive device has gone off outside a private school in Merseyside, images of police road blocks were shown, it appears it may have been some type of industrial firework.

The flooding in Africa followed, we met with reporter Will Ross ( I am the eggman, I am the willross) and again, like earlier this week when we saw the same feature, utilised a speedboat to reach the affected areas, this time to meet with a young native girl who, curiously, was travelling by bicycle. She told of no food and a wait for "divine intervention", maybe William or Diana ?; although it seems the worst of the rain is over now and the problems she faces are also health related.

Price fixing in our supermarkets was the next topic for discussion as we heard of farmers losing money on each pig that they sold to the aforementioned multi-nationals. Images of a pig farm with adorable piglets were displayed along with a two dimensional pig which had dotted lines drawn over it, similar to a butcher's cuts. Each section of the pig was then given a financial value, in terms of farmers share etc. At the end there was not enough pig to go round everyone, so the farmers lost out. Talk was of the "long term survival of agricultural industries" before we cut to a supermarket and saw a lady with a trolley full of bleach, presumably we were being subliminally reminded of how much it would cost to clean our own kitchens, if for example one chose to slaughter one's own meat on the worktop. To close, we saw more adorable piglets being breast fed.

Last up was the promised feature on Dr Death, and his plastic population, a similar moniker to the 80's backing band for Yazz, I think. Dr D., real name Guten Von Hagen, preserves human corpses in silicon and then displays them in settings, for example sitting round a dinner table. It appears that these veritable works of art have in fact appeared in the James Bond film, Casino Royale, however the loca church minister did not seem too chuffed about it. Notwithstanding the religious sentiments we were asked to consider this futuristic taxidermy as a viable alternative to burial or cremation, and were further advised that the docs new "Body Factory", as it is aptly named, has given new hope to a degenerated area of Germany. To verify this a local female employee was interviewed, she told how she was lucky to have a job. Maybe that was the point. What happened to Body Shop Roddick's cadavar ?

cheers



This little piggie stayed at home







General Dannett

Friday 21 September 2007

BBC TV News Review - Thursday September 20th

Fiona Bruce returned to pole position at the BBC News at 10 yesterday; again the leading feature was that of economic crisis as we heard that Mervyn King, the Bank of England governer, defended his strategy in respect of the Northern Rock "crisis".

We went to reporter Hugh Pym who told how Mervyn had entered "into the lions den"; this being a grilling from a panel of Members of Parliament who fired questions Alan Sugar Apprentice style at Mr King, while he attempted to explain his actions. The problem seems to be that the BoE were aware of the ongoing NR problem as far back as 14th August and yet appeared to do nothing about it. An MP described this as a runaway train destined to hit the buffers, Mervyn agreed, but told how he thought the train might have stopped in time, of its own accord, if market conditions had altered. Unfortunately, they did not.


Furthermore, Mervyn told how, if legal legislation had allowed, he would simply have slipped the economy the ten billion pounds "covertly", and the public would have been none the wiser. Makes you wonder. The BBC supplied a timetable of events, flashing back to reruns of the news from last week, queues snaking down streets outside Northern Rock branches. Robert Peston, the BBC political editor was interviewed, he told how "a lot of people think that if the money (£10b) was put in earlier, it would have been okay" and, additionally, that he could not use the language he had heard from critics of King - "even after the watershed". And surely not in front of Fiona Bruce ?


We moved over to Africa - "the worst flooding in living memory", 1.5 million people are affected. Travelling by 4WD and then African Navy speedboat, we arrived at a "cut off community" in Ghana where native villagers told how they had lost their crops and were "living by magic". Unfortunately, no further details of this were supplied, which was a shame, it would have been the most interesting thing on the news. Anyhow, we continued and saw some waterlogged and ruined maize before closing by showing Africans crowded in a boat, rowing somewhere. Going back to their Roots ?

Blue Peter, the BBC childrens TV show, has come in for more criticism after it was revealed that the results of an online poll, to give the new show cat a name, were alterered, viewers wanted the feline to be called Cookie however staff opted for Socks and overruled the childrens decision. Animal Magic perhaps ? BBC radio 6 also revealed that they had created bogus competition winners, their head of programmes has resigned.

Supermarkets are at it as well, it appears that the major players along with some suppliers have colluded to fix the prices on milk, butter and cheese, in effect, costing the consumer more. We heard more of the profiteering before images of a dairy farm and cows were shown although it seems that the farmers received no extra monies.

Chelsea football club have parted company with their manager Jose Mourinho after a "relationship break down with owner Roman Abramovich, a Russian career criminal. The BBC zoomed in on an arial map of London eventually reaching Stamford Bridge where we saw some supporters emotionally displaying their sense of loss and loyalty before images of the club winning a European trophy were displayed. It appears Mourinho was a loose cannon, are we not all classed similar nowadays; if we don't conform?

Coming up - Race rows in America

First, talk was of a possible Israeli air strike on a Syrian "nuclear facility"; we went to the border of these countries to see a "large scale military exercise" and heard of "some talk of war". The methodology of the air strike was explained - "the planes flew over our allies Turkey" before we heard that the official Israeli line was "diplomacy". However, it was reassuringly explained that Syria is a "problematic country." To close we saw dozens of Israeli military vehicles in the desert.

2 more British soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Again, the Mercian regiment

The Liberal Democrat party next and it was time for Ming Campbell to give his speech "to silence the mutterings. Ming told how he will turn his age into an asset, speaking of maturity and experience, denouncing Iraq, defending civil liberties and deriding personal debt before knocking nuclear power. The Emperor received a standing ovation, reporter Nick Robinson told this was "because of his judgement". Ming and his missus looked well chuffed.

It was time for the American race row, "tens of thousands" of "black Americans" have travelled to a backwater town called Jena to protest against the conviction against six coloured youths, in "scenes reminiscent of 1950/60's civil rights". Protestors told of a "high school fight" which has blown up into a full scale political row. It seems all the local shops have closed, we saw black people shouting and marching before images of a KKK member were displayed. Some locals were interviewed, they seemed to just wish it would all go away.

Short sport feature to close.

cheers


















More Animal Farm - Supermarket scale.
Animal Magic

Thursday 20 September 2007

BBC TV News Review - Wednesday 19th September

It was Huw Edwards hosting the BBC News at 10, the leading story the ongoing credit crisis in the world and British economies. The Bank of England announced that they would inject ten billion pounds into the market in an attempt to reduce inter-bank interest rates and this has raised criticism into their actions; some believe that if this had been done earlier it would have negated the Northern Rock run on savings.

Robert Peston, the BBC Business editor, told how BoE chairman Mervyn King, "the grey man of the British economy", had been "thrust into the limelight for all the wrong reasons" and now would have to answer tough questions posed by MP's as to the reasons for his change of decision - previously he had refused to become involved, blaming the banks for their own dodgy lending and as such, viewing them liable for the resulting calamity.

The talk then moved on as to whether, if the cash injection had been carried out earlier, it would have had any bearing on the Northern Rock situation. Mr. Peston seemed to think so, however he confided that he had been in communication with other senior BoE executives and that they were in fact divided on whether or not it would have had an effect. It seems that Mr. King will need to provide some sound rationale for his recent decisions or find himself a scapegoat; we shall see how matters progress.

Migrant workers followed, and in particular, their criminal tendencies. We heard of drink driving, knife carrying and a Lithuanian gangland murder before hearing from the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire police, Julie Spence, who told how she "wants a share of the cake", the cake being the police budget. It appears that the Chief believes that she has more migrants on her patch than some neighbouring divisions, her example was Lewisham, yet does not receive any additional "cake" in respect of this challenge.

The BBC however, had analysed statistics and felt that Julie required to undertake a "reality check". They ran through various types of nefarious crime and concluded that in fact Lewisham was much worse than Cambridgeshire - in fact although migrants had increased in the latter area - crime had actually fallen. To close, a walkie talkie festooned young Romany gypsy community policeman was interviewed, he told how not all Eastern European gypsies were thieves and it was more a bad apple senario.

The McCanns next, no real news really, the judge has reviewed the evidence and it appears that the Portuguese Justice have no more questions for "Gerry and Kate" at the moment. Reporter Richard Bilton is still based in the Algarve though and he advised we will need to "wait and see".

Lebanon - a car bomb has exploded in a Christian area resulting in six dead. It seems that "the deadlock continues over Syria" whatever that means.

A special report from Burma followed, on the ongoing protests and social unrest due to poverty. Reporter Andrew Harding had stopped off there on his way home from Phucket to provide us with a "rare insight" into social conditions. Children scavenging for food were in abundance as images of dire poverty were displayed for digestion before we turned to the protests themselves, - and we viewed a procession of Buddhist monks, other individuals are "too scared to join in"

Consideration was then offered as to whether Burma was "on the edge of revolution" and "is poverty the catalyst for change". It seems that the odds are against this though despite a third of children being malnourished as we saw protestors (not monks though) being battered by paid government thugs and were told of "informers everywhere." We then saw a lady protestor, her husband has already been arrested, she is on the run. The problem is that she didnt take her baby daughter with her and the police have got her, according to the lady - "using the baby as bait". Images of the sleeping infant were shown; somehow.

Our reporter then took the brave step of going to visit an old man, as he walked down the steps he considered whether the house may be under surveillance. It appeared not, "so far so good" and then the old chap was questioned, he talked of "no options" but didnt really answer any questions in a direct manner. It reminded me of the film Karate Kid, even the house was like that. That was about it really.

Coming up - Lost children - is Britain doing enough.

First though, the tragic story of Mrs Joanne Coombs who was found dead yesterday at the same sopt where her daughters body was found on 10th August. We saw the previous floral tribute to her daughter Tasha and a clip of Mrs Coombe was shown when her daughter had initially gone missing. Obviously she was heartbroken at that point. The last images of her daughter on CCTV were shown again to remind us of the circumstances of that case which have not yet been established conclusively. To close we saw fresh flowers and a neighbouring shine in construction.

Foot and Mouth - possible fresh outbreak in West Midlands

As promised, the report on trafficked children. A girl, Sarah, was shown, aged 12 and she had already been kept prisoner, in slavery, looking after a family and being regularly beaten for lack of attention to chores. We heard of other child slaves and were told that "there could be one living down the road from you, there could even be one next door - and you wouldnt know". Absolute fucking nonsense but Cinderella springs to mind, the Prince and all that.

More AFN - Afghanistan. The soldier killed the other day was named and his image shown.

Next up Ming Campbell again. "Totally relaxed" Ming spoke to Nick Robinson, the BBC political editor. Nick asked about "jockeying for position amongst the young turks" in reference to speculation that Ming is too old; Ming laughed it off and told of how his speech today will send home party members "with a spring in their step". Ming believes the main concerns amongst the electorate are Iraq, nuclear power, pensions and tuition fees.

We closed with football, Arsenal, Man Utd and Rangers all won in Europe, six sixes at the cricket, only the 4th time.

cheers

























Pistols reunion - engineered revolution ?









Wednesday 19 September 2007

TV News Review - Tuesday 18th September

I missed the first five minutes or so of the BBC News at 10 yesterday evening, however our host was Huw Edwards and the first feature human migration to the UK. It appears that there are a mass of individuals in refugee camps in France all of whom intend sneaking in to the UK to grab our houses and jobs or perhaps indulge in criminality.

We heard of a "humanitarian/immigration balance" and "1300 attempts prevented in July" before we went to reporter Daniel Sangford for his comments. Daniel told of a "gathering of illegal immigrants at French ports" and the subsequent fears of our government authorities over illicit entry. To sum up though, we were advised that this situation has been ongoing for several year and so as to why it now makes headline news is anyones guess. Perhaps.

Foot and Mouth disease followed, a fresh outbreak in Egham, Surrey resulting in the culling of cattle, sheep and pigs. Images of the exclusion zone were shown. Newspaceman has wondered that if a deadly human virus was to somehow invade our country, would our government treat the situation in the same way. Isolating villages and culling the infected human inhabitants after testing for the virus. Any undesirable humans who happened to be clear could simply be marked as "inconclusive", this itself merits slaughter - on animal farms anyway.

Our police followed, criticism that they are taking unnecessary risks when involved in high speed car "chases". Images of a windscreen mounted video camera installed in a fast moving vehicle were shown to illustrate this feature. We heard of varying rules in different police forces and that a fresh set of mandatory instructions should be drawn up and adhered to.

Higher education followed, it appears that the United Kingdom is beginning to lag behind other countries in terms of standards. We heard that "British education is still strong" however we are "falling behind the rest of the world". A clip of Prime Minister Gordon Brown was shown wheere he spoke of plans to tempt school leavers into further education and thus increase the quota of graduates in the furture. It appears that our children's expectations are "staggeringly low" and we heard from a couple of them to verify this fact. They explained that "uni takes so long" and that they would rather "get rich quick", in terms of money. We saw some lovely little toddler infants at nursery to close.

Coming up - football, Liverpool in Portugal.

First though, three more American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. It seems that blame is being apportioned on jihad recruits from Jordan. As such, we went to Jordan's capital, "a fertile recruiting ground for al-Quaeda" before a interview with a hooded individual was shown. He spoke in very fast Jordanese however a translator had been provided so we could hear of "infadels" and being "met with roses", the latter in heaven. Mention was made of killed hostage Ken Bigley before images of satellite TV dishes were displayed as we heard of "bloody pictures straight to homes".

We saw a taster of the messy snaps, Iraq infants, with terrible injuries and it seems that these images radicalise young muslims. One was interviewed, Abdullah, only a young teenager, he spoke of "so much hate - I want to kill them". To close we saw worship in a mosque.

British soldier killed, another badly injured in Southern Afghanistan.

A body count for the Phucket plane crash, again we were treated to images of the aftermath and wreckage.

Our Prime Minister Gordon Brown has spoken of improving healthcare by improving access to doctors outside normal working hours. It appears that the Government appointed Sir Ara Darzi to prepare a report on the state of the NHS and that this has now been completed although the results are not yet public. Nick Robinson, political editor, told how SAD worked two days as a "top surgeon", the "other four days" were spent carrying out the review.

Images of keyhole surgery being performed were shown before we saw Gordon debating with a delegation of doctors. Talk was of "electronic prescriptions", "walk in centres", "NHS direct" and "confusion in the system". We heard that Sir Darzi's report findings were presented to the Cabinet today however another top doctor made his feeling clear as he told how he was being "spun against", by the government one assumes.

To close was football; not a good night for British clubs.


Just for the record, ITN news is currently running a special report on the conditions in Zimbabwe, complete with images of famine and talk of crocodiles and bandits. I shall try to cover one episode in some depth this week, it is very similar to a special from May or early June.

cheers


















Reassured Savers?

Tuesday 18 September 2007

Close Encounters of the Northern Kind


BBC TV News Review - Monday 17th September

I opted for an earlier news programme yesterday, the BBC evening news at 6pm, hosted by both Natasha Platinski and a coloured gentleman, I did not quite catch his name. The format is slightly more relaxed than the later 10pm edition, the pair of presenters exchange knowing glances and smiles as they read the news, almost in the manner of an intimate couple. One images that this is the intention, given the hour of the day with viewers returning home from employment, perhaps talking to each other for the first time whilst anxiously eating dinner over the news.


The content of the actual programme is obviously still more or less the same and as such we kicked off with the run on the Northern Rock bank. It struck me yesterday, that metaphorically, you could not really have a better comparison in that of climate change. The Rock in the North is in financial meltdown due to heat in the markets, the Artic glacier rock is melting due to the warming climate (and whatever really causes that change).



Anyhow, we were told that our Government has "stepped in and guaranteed savings" to depositors with the NR and that hopefully this will alleviate the customer's concerns. Nevertheless, we again saw images of huge queues which had formed yesterday and heard of fall in share price. Mention was made of a single customer withdrawing three quarters of a million pounds before we saw a lady who intended to keep her money under her mattress once she eventually withdrew it. A shareholder was interviewed, Roger Lawson, he had lost £10,000 in the last few days.



Alistair Darling, our Government Chancellor, was shown, making the aformentioned statement in which he guaranteed savers funds and then we travelled to a call centre to see some modern day slavery, humans shackled to their desks by means of a telephone headset and a computer which records their activities. Again reasons were offered as to how this latest crisis had occured, the "credit crunch" receiving most blame, however we heard of fears of "contagion" - "fear over one bank spreads to another".


An economist of some description spoke of a "financial tsumani" and again we saw long queues of customers, live from Kingston branch in London where in fact the police had been called to establish some sort of order. It was over to slippery political reporter, Nick Robinson, who stood outside the doors of number 11 Downing Street, home of the Chancellor, and told how the "Government, Bank of England and Financial Services Authority" are "not in control of events".

Number 11, a pair of towers ?



Thankfully we moved on although the subject was even less palatable, the plane crash in Thailand. Images of rescuers and the crash aftermath were shown along with a amateur video of the "fireball that followed". The BBC graphic department had created a simulated reconstruction in which a plane came of a runway and burst into flames, most enlightening. Interviews with survivors in their hospital beds were next before we went to reporter Andrew Harding in Phucket, he told of a Welsh couple, the man missing, the woman badly injured before mention of possible acts of heroism by a British man.


A large counterfeight "drugs bust" followed; the actual bust was nine months or so ago, however the culprits had only just attended court . Huge bags of viagra were displayed and mention was made of fake "baldness cures". It appears that the product was produced in India, China and Pakistan then imported here for retail in smaller quantities. The three men concerned, who have been found guilty, will be sentenced next month.


A couple and their seven children were involved in an accident when their Landrover swerved off the road. The youngest child tragically died.


A head on crash on the M4; Apparently police were pursuing a Ford Mondeo containing 4 youths which then, in an attempt to evade capture, travelled the wrong way up a motorway and was then involved in a head on collision with a Volvo. Some local young girls were interviewed and told how it was "sad".


Coming up - Colin McRae - car rally driver


First though, Microsoft has lost it's appeal against a £343 million fine imposed by the European Commission in a dispute over competition. We were advised that "we live in a windows world" and were treated to images of the Vista launch complete with multi coloured absailers, almost like a free advert.


Football, England's ladies team won and are through to the finals in China. Images of the game were shown, incluing ladies celebrating in the manner of footballers.


Celebrities followed, Helen Mirren and Ricky Gervais have won honours at the Emmys. Images of the event and celebrities were shown.


Liberal Democrats Conference, starring Menzies, call me Ming, Campbell was the next cutting edge story, we heard of their proposals to negate climate change - extra tax on cars etc. We saw Ming in an Eco house and talk was of green mortgages. Northern Hill anyone? Again talk was of Mr Campbell's leadership qualities, is he dynamic enough ? Charles Kennedy gave his opinion on it and, to be quite honest, Charles is, to quote a Scottish saying, ill with the drink, his skin colour and eyes tell all.


To close, as promised, the tragic death of rally driver Colin McRae, his son and two friends in a helicopter crash on Sunday. There have been several similar crashes in the last few years in the same type of vehicle. Images of the crash site and wreckage were shown although no graphic reconstruction.



cheers












Ming the Merciless - note missing capstone in photo below




Monday 17 September 2007

BBC TV News Review - Sunday 16th September

It was Emily Maykiss (phonetic) hosting the BBC late afternoon news yesterday, where we commenced with the aeroplane crash in Phuket, Thailand; 87 dead, of which some were British although this had not, as yet, been confirmed.

We travelled to Bankok to hear from reporter Andrew Harding who told of terrible weather conditions. Numerous images of the aftermath of the crash were shown, the plane mangled on the runway, casualties and rescuers in abundance. We heard from an Irish victim, lucky to be alive, he told how he looked in vain for his friend, however discovered him outside the plane when he, himself, made an exit.

The Northern Rock bank followed, again we heard of the "run" on savings late last week, and were told that this could amount to approximately two billion pounds so far although this could increase dramatically once withdrawals from postal based accounts are processed. One can imagine (with the benefit of first hand financial service experience) that customers who attempt to withdraw funds by letter, will first receive a telephone call from the "manager" who will try to persuade customers that this is not necessary. We see this in the images of the queues of investors, besuited individuals tackling pensioners and suchlike, convincing them that all is well.
You would not believe some of the commission rates on products you are sold, of that you can have my assurance.


The helicopter crash in Lanark, Scotland, as reported yesterday and it has now been confirmed that the pilot was Colin McRae, the rally driver along with a friend, his young son and his young friend. Accident investigators are still attempting to establish the cause although we heard of "possible rough engine noise" and mechanical failure.

Richard (good guy/white knight) Branson has donated £100,000 to the family of Madeleine McCann to establish a new fund to finance their legal bills in the ongoing investigation into their conduct in the disappearance of their daughter. Furthermore, it was again reported that the parents are to spend £80,000 from the Maddie fund on a Europe wide advertising campaign. We heard from "high profile" supporters of the McCann's and "the best legal and media advisers in the country". She has now been missing for 136 days. What baffles me is that individuals claim the McCanns must be innocent because they are the McCanns. I am not saying they are guilty but how can anyone be so convinced of their innocence without actually knowing the truth. For a bit more on Branson, please see here http://peeringthrough.blogspot.com/2007/09/starman-or-strange-case-of-steve_15.html


A march was held in London of Sudanese refugees protesting about the ongoing conflict in Darfur. We have seen a number of features on the problems that the country faces recently. Next stop on the global domination tour ?

The Liberal Democrats followed in almost an exact rerun of yesterdays feature. Again we heard of Menzies (Ming) Campbell's groundbreaking climate change policies (full details to be announced) and again we heard of internal party doubts over his leadership qualities.

To close, sport. Motor racing first, McLaren, driver Lewis (meaning - son of a mason) Hamilton and Ferrari, followed by football.

cheers














McCanns - Escaping a pickle ?