"I Am Become Death" - The Legacy Of Hiroshima

Today marks the 64th anniversary of the Hiroshima atrocity, when up to 140,000 people were killed by an atomic bomb – a weapon cutely nicknamed ‘Little Boy’ – after it was detonated above that Japanese city by the US Air Force on August 6th 1945.

Despite the fact that this event brought the Second World War to a swift end, with the Japanese surrendering just a few days later (and following a second atomic bomb blast over Nagasaki, which killed a further estimated 80,000 civilians) both events are still atrocities, because there was an alternative to this slaughter which was never tried.

A devastating demonstration of the atomic bomb’s power, carried out in an uninhabited area, would have shown the Japanese government what might lay in store for them if they didn’t surrender, and it’s very probable that they would have heeded the warning and offered terms for surrender.

But it didn’t happen that way. President Harry Truman gave the go-ahead to bomb the two cities, and hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians died as a result.

It can’t be denied that the bombings certainly saved countless numbers of lives as well. The invasion of the Japanese mainland was imminent, and the slaughter - on both sides - would have been incalculable, but I’ve always felt that an alternative solution should have been tried first.

The architect of the atomic bomb program (The Manhattan Project) – J. Robert Oppenheimer (pictured right) – was reported to have later stated after having watched the first successful test of the bomb, that he was reminded of a line from the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita: “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.

And it’s true that the abominable creation that he and his fellow scientists brought into this world back in 1945 – and christened ‘Little Boy” – has grown to adulthood. Not in a dignified manner, however, but into a many-tentacled monster, spreading it’s terror around the world. And we must ask ourselves: “Was it worth it?”

Look at the situation today.

The US and Russia have agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals, but still retain enough weapons for either side to destroy the world many times over. China, the UK and France have substantial arsenals, and although all 5 of those countries are the recognised nuclear states of the world, and therefore considered to be more ‘responsible’ than others when it comes to nuclear weapons, it still doesn’t guarantee the world’s population a peaceful sleep at night.

And then there are the countries on the fringes of ‘responsibility’ who possess nuclear weapons and who might deploy them at any time, should their sovereignty be threatened. India and Pakistan hate each other with a vengeance - and both possess the weapons. Israel also possesses them, and their sworn enemies – Iran and Syria – are both in the advanced stages of developing them. These two areas are fast becoming the ‘flashpoints’ of the world.

Rogue states like North Korea are capable of anything, and the fact that North Korea has demonstrated its nuclear capability is highly alarming to every other nation of the world, including its one major ally, China. It’s also been recently reported that the North Koreans are assisting the military junta in Myanmar (Burma) to build a nuclear reactor with the potential for developing weapons '‘in the next few years'’.

The only country to have shown restraint and real responsibility is South Africa, who successfully developed the bomb but then decided to dismantle its arsenal and not proceed down the nuclear path. But South Africa is an exception.

Add to all that the NATO agreement that allows the US to supply fellow NATO countries with nuclear weapons – these being Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Turkey – and you can see just how the weapons are proliferating around the world.

And finally, of course, the most dangerous scenario of all. With so much plutonium having gone astray from various nuclear facilities over the years, it’s surely just a matter of time before terrorists are able to construct a nuclear ‘dirty’ bomb and to deploy it in some western country. It would be nowhere near as devastating as a ‘proper’ nuclear bomb, but the outcome would still be as horrendous, especially if they succeeded in detonating it in a densely-populated area.

And all of this is the legacy of what occurred in Hiroshima. We might be commemorating the anniversary of it today because it signified the end of the Second World War, but in reality the date of August 6th 1945 might one day become something different.

A model of how Hiroshima looked before the bomb was dropped

How it looked after the bomb

It was a nuclear chain reaction that caused the destruction of Hiroshima. But it could well be a different sort of nuclear chain reaction – defined by the ever-increasing numbers of fingers on the nuclear button – that ends up destroying the rest of us.

Real footage of the blasts over Hiroshima and Nagasaki

** The 'Grim Reaper' at the head of this post courtesy of Katie Alfonsi at THIS WEBSITE

Some Darkness ... And Some Light

The last week – like every other week of course - has seen death in many of its guises … this time, more soldiers killed in Afghanistan, a low-life paedophile dying in an Australian jail, the ‘King of Pop’ departing the world amidst cries of anguish, a man gored to death by a bull in Pamplona, and a world famous rock climber dicing with death once too often.

The British military's death toll in Afghanistan surpassed the number of lives claimed in Iraq during the week, as eight soldiers died in separate attacks over a 24-hour period. The latest casualties take Britain's death toll in Afghanistan to 184.

The war in Afghanistan is unwinnable in the long term – as is the war in Iraq – and security & military forces should be employed to protect their own countries, not to throw away their lives in a futile effort to keep terrorism at bay in some far-flung foreign land … because it’s doomed to fail.

Robert 'Dolly' Dunn

Robert ‘Dolly’ Dunn, a 68-year-old convicted paedophile who was serving a 20-year sentence in Australia’s Long Bay Jail, died this week. Over many long years, he committed multiple sex offences against young boys and kept an extensive video collection of his crimes, never showing remorse and often reiterating that he didn’t see anything wrong with sex between adult men and young boys.

When he knew he was on his death bed, he applied to the Department of Corrections to be allowed home to see out his final days – a concession often granted to prisoners when their death is inevitable – but his request was refused by the Department, a spokesman saying: “We will show him the same compassion he showed his victims”.

It’s hard to imagine that anyone will be sorry at the passing of Robert Dunn.

The exploitation of Michael Jackson

The whole world is aware of the death of Michael Jackson – it would have been impossible to miss the fact – and I’m not going to put in my tuppence-worth here … other than to say that many people rubbed their hands with glee when he died.

Not just those who believed he was a nutcase, or a paedophile, or a talentless junkie (he might have been all of those things, or none of them) but rather those who saw a pot of gold opening up before them.

His albums are once again shooting up the charts, with many more tribute albums to come, and his exploitation will increase and continue over the coming years, making many people very rich. It always happens with the death of a ‘star’ such as Michael Jackson and it’s certain he’ll become much more successful in death than he was in the latter part of his life.

Another idiot bites the dust in Pamplona during the so-called ‘running of the bulls’ – the first fatality to occur during this obscene event in 15 years. Those who torture and bait animals deserve everything that might come to them and I can find no sympathy for young Spaniard Daniel Jimeno Romero, who was fatally gored by a terrified bull named ‘Capuchino’.

Capuchino, and the other bulls who ran the streets that day, were subsequently killed in the bull ring, but perhaps he did manage to exact some revenge for what would happen to him, and I applaud him for that.

What was probably an inevitable death also occurred this week, as internationally-renowned rock climber John Bachar finally lost a challenge with Mother Nature and fell to his death from a cliff-face in the U.S.

The 51-year-old was known as a ‘free soloist’ rock climber and was greatly admired for his daring and courage during his many ascents around the world. He never used ropes or any other type of safety gear, and not once in his career did he ‘defile’ Mother Nature by hammering metal supports into rock faces.

You have to admire someone like John Bachar. Foolhardy, perhaps, in not taking safety precautions but a man with immense courage, who died doing what he loved … and not having hurt anyone in the process.

--------------

There were some nicer moments too, this week, and two of them are shown below. Both of them made me smile and caused me to remember that – quite often – in the midst of darkness can be found just a little bit of light.

Barack Obama has shown a refreshingly human face since becoming President and it's clear that the 'ugly' side of U.S. politics is beginning to make way for a much more acceptable style. He'll make mistakes - there's no doubt about that - and he'll also make enemies along the way, but I must admit, I like him.

At the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, this week he showed that human side, as one of the 'Junior G8' delegates - Brazil's 16-year-old Mayora Tavaro walked by, and the look wasn't missed by a smiling French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.

And at the G20 summit, in April of this year, his friendly nature was in evidence as he entered 10 Downing Street, shaking the hand of a coloured London policeman as he went by. What was noticeable to me about this photograph was the fact that he obviously didn't just do it for the cameras ... he was being genuine, which is a refreshing change for a politician.

And finally, a nice sense of humour from Wimbledon champion Serena Williams.

The Media v. The Muslim - Fata Lemes And Her Red Dress

I’m not a racist and never have been. There’s room for every colour or creed in this world and if someone wants to leave their own country and come to live in mine, I’ve got no problem with it.

But there’s one proviso: I'll be tolerant towards their religion, their customs, their mode of dress, their colour and everything else … but they have an obligation to integrate with ME and my country, not the other way around.

I expect them to be able to speak my language to a reasonable degree, and to obey my country’s laws. I also expect them to respect my country’s customs and traditions … and I’ll do the same for theirs … but I won’t move aside and allow their customs and traditions to overtake my own. Not in my own country. They wouldn’t do it for me – so I wouldn’t do it for them.

When the case of Fata Lemes, a young Bosnian Muslim girl in London, was recently revealed, therefore, I became just a bit annoyed and thought to myself that it’s no wonder there’s so much racial and religious intolerance in the world when this sort of thing can happen.

Ms Lemes, who works in the hospitality industry, has just been awarded $A6,000 (3,000 UK Pounds) compensation by The Central London Employment Tribunal because her employer – The Rocket Bar in upmarket Mayfield – insisted she wear a red cocktail dress as her uniform. This dress, she said, made her “look like a prostitute” and she claimed (if you can believe her) that she was continually approached by patrons for sexual services because she was dressed in it.

“It was clearly designed to be attractive to men sexually. I was concerned the clients would regard me as a prostitute” she said, adding “You might as well be naked. I was brought up a Muslim. I did not want men looking at my body”.

The Rocket Bar in Mayfair

There are a few pertinent things to say about this case. Firstly, take a look at the dress (shown in the photograph at the head of this post). Hardly what I’d call sexually alluring, and not immediately identifiable with the prostitution trade but, as the tribunal said, following its compensation payout: “(Ms Lemes) holds views about modesty and decency which some might think unusual in Britain in the 21st century”.

But hold on a minute. If she’s such a staunch Muslim, and upholds the rules of that religion, what’s she doing applying for a job in a London bar? Anything to do with alcohol is strictly forbidden within that religion and she shouldn’t have even contemplated working there.

And she “holds views about modesty and decency which some might think unusual” does she? One look at her Facebook page shows a very different side to Ms Lemes, as she leans towards the camera to display a fairly decent cleavage.

The red dress and the Facebook photograph - as published by the Daily Mail

It’s a perfectly normal type of picture for countless girls to display on the web, but is it perfectly normal for a strict Muslim girl? “I did not want men looking at my body” she said at the Tribunal hearing. Perhaps, then, she should have worn a roll-neck sweater for her Facebook photograph.

I can smell hypocrisy in the air. And I can hear the crinkle of $A6,000 in nice new banknotes, which I‘m sure she’ll find useful.

But, really, all Ms Lemes has done is to sell decent Muslims in Britain down the river, and added just another bit to the racial tension that’s so rife in that country.

Now I'll ask this question: Do you believe everything I’ve written above? It’s based on what the newspapers have reported, so it’s bound to be true isn’t it?

Well, there’s a disturbing side to this story, but one that doesn’t surprise me. Take the religious aspect out of the case and base your judgment of Ms Lemes solely on her insistence that it was all about female dignity, and not religion. Consider the fact that she might have left her job only because of her objection to wearing a dress she considered (rightly or wrongly) to be inappropriate, and not because of any Muslim modesty.

Take a look at her blog – HERE – where she tries desperately to defend herself – and consider things a little more closely.

It sheds a new light on the issue, because any young woman could have done the same, had she felt the same way, and religious beliefs wouldn’t have come into it. Ms Lemes was certainly brought up a Muslim, but she’s not, by her own admission, a practising Muslim any more and she claims she didn’t base her compensation claim in any way on the fact that she was a Muslim nor that the incident had offended her religious beliefs.

But, of course, the newspapers (and, in particular, the London Daily Mail) cottoned on to the fact that she was from Bosnia, and had been brought up a Muslim, and THAT certainly made for a much better story. So they ran with it all the way and it became a newspaper-selling Muslim-bashing opportunity, rather than a straightforward mediocre sexual discrimination case.

It’s a case of either believing the Daily Mail story or believing Fata Lemes’ story, and I know which one I would rather believe.

Two Types Of Victims - And Whose Fault Is That?

When Mother Nature strikes, it’s beyond our control. Deaths from natural disasters are tragic, but they are accepted as being events that are uncontrollable, and as regular occurrences in the world in which we live.

What shouldn't be accepted as regular occurrences, however, are the deaths, injuries and injustices inflicted by people on each other. Man’s inhumanity to man has continued down the ages … and will continue into the future … and it’s THAT fact that’s the real tragedy of this world.

The following few photographs highlight what I mean ……

DESPAIR

A mother searches for her lost child in the rubble of a school following the earthquake in the Sichuan province of China on May 12th 2008.

CRUSHED

The earthquake left 69,000 dead, 374,ooo injured and 5 million homeless.

TRAGEDY

Two children lie dead beneath the rubble of their school - it's Mother Nature at her most unforgiving.

MURDERED

But Man's inhumanity to Man knows no bounds. The aftermath of a car bomb in Baghdad, 2006

VICTIM

Another car bomb in Baghdad, this time in 2007.

DESPERATION
A mother, with child in arms, tries to hold back attacking riot police during disturbances in Burma.

FEAR
A young boy recoils in fear at the approach of a soldier in Somalia.

TORTURE
An elderly woman is cared for after having been tortured by Burmese police.

WOUNDED
A poignant photograph, from an unspecified event somewhere in Europe.

HOMELESS
An African refugee crawls exhaustedly up the beach after having landed from a boat off the coast of Gran Tarajal, in the Canary Islands, on May 5th 2006. Desperately hoping to be given asylum by the Spanish authorities, holidaymakers in the background give him no thought (photo by Juan Medina).

POVERTY
Black workers in the United States queue for welfare in the shadow of an ironic billboard, during the depression of the 1930's.

HOPE
A U.S. soldier dies in Iraq, and he's honoured by Iraqi Muslims. Perhaps a sign of hope for the future.

British Humour - There's Nothing Quite Like It

The British may be in danger of losing their identity these days as the country becomes more and more multi-cultural and as it sinks slowly beneath the waves of the European Union, but one thing they haven’t lost is their sense of humour.

It can be the most subtle humour in the world, or the most outrageous, but there’s nobody else in the world who can match the British when it comes to wit and irreverence.

Private Eye is the UK’s best-selling satirical magazine and has been published since 1961. It’s been frequently sued for libel and has become the arch-enemy of Britain’s ‘establishment’, and the British public love it.

After a Private Eye reader with the unlikely name of Carl Isleunited wrote to the magazine in September (2008), alerting them to the danger of football fans trying to infiltrate the Letters page, readers jumped on the wagon and, with typical British wit, turned the whole issue into a ridiculous literary marathon. Here’s just a short selection from the hundreds of letters received on the subject ….

Sir,
No doubt after Carl Isleunited’s letter in Eye 1219 about letter writers getting the name of their favourite football teams into the Eye, you will receive numerous false letters purporting to be from Peter Boroughunited and Lynn Concity and the like. I will have grounds for cancelling my subscription if I see such letters.
Yours,
ANNE FIELD.


Sir,
Stooping to puns of football teams names: how sad can you get? No more please,
BURT ONALBION,
(Gary Braybrook).


Sir,
I agree with Mr Isleunited: it certainly would be very slimy for people to try to sneak their own teams’ names into this marvellous rag.
Yours in earnest,
BORIS YAMUNCHENGLADBACH,
(Dan & Helen Jenkins).


Sir,
Its all very well for your English readers cravenly inserting names of their favourite football teams into the Letters page, but up here in Scotland we would never dream of stooping so low. Especially with my being a bit dyslexic.
Yours faithfully,
PATRICK THISTLE,
(Mike Spells).


Sir,
I feel I must protest strongly. The recent spate of letters in which correspondents have signed off using football team names is grossly unfair to those of us whose football teams’ name cannot be conveniently arranged to look like a personal name.
Yours etc,
S. TOCKPORT COUNT Y,
(Edward Keane).


Sir,
I was horrified to see that the trend for correspondents writing letters solely for the purpose of getting the name of their favourite football team into your organ has continued. I would like to assure you that rugby fans would never consider copying this behaviour.
Yours supportively,
LES TERTIGERS.


AND THEN IT SPREAD ….

"Private Eye is not only Britain’s biggest selling news and current affairs magazine – a unique combination of journalism and jokes every fortnight. It’s also the publication with the highest number of readers with bizarre, made-up names … "

Sir,
There’s something fishy about the names of many of your correspondents these days. Please be more vigilant regarding this matter.
Yours faithfully,
HAL IBUT.


Sir,
It is intolerable that you continue to treat the subject of obesity and the importance of a politically-correct diet with such levity.
Yours flatulently,
DON R. KERR-BABB.
(Guy Cudmore)


Sir,
I wholeheartedly concur with Ms E. Norma Sonokas’ comments in your last issue about your pathetic, giggling attempts at humour. I would have thought that in these times of financial meltdown, wholesale redundancies, family violence and, more importantly, John Sergeant’s dancing ability, you could direct your satirical attempts to where they may do most good.
Yours faithfully,
IVOR H. ARDON.
(David Briggs)


Sir,
Any chance of a mention of my old chums Jim Nastix and Jock St Rappa?* Thanks awfully.
SIR KIT TRAINOR.
(* No. Ed.)


THE EDITOR TRIES TO CLOSE THE SUBJECT …

"Due to the very large number of emails and letters received from readers with silly made-up names complaining about the very large number of emails and letters received from other readers with silly made-up names, this correspondence has now been terminated … "

Sir,
This silly predilection for made-up names is reducing the Eye to the level of a children’s comic and should be stopped.
DAN DEE and B. KNO.
(Michael Humphries)


Sir,
As a reader from the United Arab Emirates, I am confused as to why your readers would send in letters to you with obviously made-up names. This would never happen in my country.
SHEIKH YOURBOOTY.


Sir,
I believe this pseudo name silliness should be drawn to a close.
ANNETTE CURTAIN.


When will your tedious and silly section on made-up names finally come to an end?
WENDY FATLADYSINGS.
(J. Mountain)


Sir,
As the head of a troubled bank, I am truly grateful to you for your Pseudo Names section as it takes my mind off suicide.
OWEN BILLIONS.


Sir,
Please don’t stop them, if you do I’ll jump.
SUE E. SIDAL.
(Maggie Robins)


Sir,
Don’t think you’ve seen the end of letters from people with made-up names, because you haven’t. There’ll be plenty more.
HUGH MARK MYWORDS.
(John Smith)


Sir,
As a very regular reader of your magazine for more years than I care to remember, I have a splendid idea for you – get people to write in with made-up names. Now, bet you never thought of that one!
AL ZHEIMER.
(No. It would never work. Ed.)


Sir,
Gordon Brown has just resigned!
APRIL FEWELL.
(Rod Duggan)


Sir,
The suggestion by Cindy-Kate Rightaway (Eye 1231) that you copyright your content such as the amusing pseudonyms section is wise advice. The media are a bunch of pirates.
R. JIMLAD
P. SISSOVATE
SHIVA MITIMBARS.
(Simon Birnstingl)


Sir,
Eventually your Pseudo Names section will end. It will be sad, but what can you do?
KAY SAYRAH.
(Laurence Field)


Sir,
Due to the cleverness of your readers and the near infinite array of possibilities available in the English language, I’m afraid I see no end in sight to this nonsense.
CLARE VOYANT.


Sir,
It has been most amusing reading the Pseudo Names correspondence, but care should be taken to edit out some of the ruder names.
MARTHA FARQHUAR.
(David Bootle)


Sir,
These people clamouring for a bit of attention by getting their letters in Pseudo Names – it’s all a bit childish, isn’t it?
L. O’MUM.


Sir,
Please, please don’t stop doing Pseudo Names. It’s a refreshingly silly item in an otherwise worthy rag. For Beelzebub’s sake, cut that pathetic name-list, damn you all!
JACQUELINE HYDE.
(Pam Mizon)


Sir,
I do not know what hookahs your correspondents have been smoking, nor from which bottles they have imbibed, nor even what mushrooms they may have consumed. The pseudonyms used have no credibility and have quite obviously been dreamed up.
ALICE N. VON DER LANT.
(Miles Brough)


Sir,
I consider your Pseudo Name feature to be anti-Islamic – and I know where your correspondents live...
G. HADD.


THE EDITOR IS STILL TRYING TO CLOSE THE SUBJECT …

"Many thanks to the hundreds of readers who have contributed so thoughtfully to this correspondence which is now concluded. Maybe. Ed."

Sir,
You should not be browbeaten into ending your Pseudo Names feature by threats from your correspondent G. Hadd (see Eye 1233). People like that should be locked up.
JUAN TANAMO.
(Martin Hemming)


Sir,
Re the Editor’s suggestion in response to Mr G. Hadd’s letter to end this correspondence. Should this occur, then it may well lead to further troubles.
CHRISTIAN UPRISING.
(Keith Cooper)


Sir,
The economy of the civilised world is wrecked and you expect us to make up silly names!
D. KLEINOFF
D. WEST.


Sir,
Instead of making up silly names, why don’t your contributors read a good book?
WARREN PEACE.


Sir,
Do you think it can be true that scientists have discovered a genetic link between the Scots and the native North American Mohican nation?
HAWKEYE THENOO.
(J. Jones)


Sir,
The Pseudo Names section of your organ just confirms for me that your magazine is going to the dogs!
JACK RUSSELL (Rev.)
(Barking)

Sir,
I can’t help feeling that some of the Pseudo Names have not been easy to translate. I’d be glad to help with this if required.
ROSETTA STONE.


Sir,
Can’t we find some common ground between those who want to keep it going and those who want to end it?
BARRY D. HATCHET.
(Mrs B. Trellis)


Sir,
We’ve just been reading the Eye in the lounge at Gatwick Airport and we think that Pseudo Names is brilliant.
A. RIVALS and D. PARTURES.


… and the whole ridiculous episode is still going on … see Private Eye’s ‘Pseudo Names’

Anatomy Of A Crime - How To Steal An ATM Card

The following pictures were taken by a security camera at a bank in the UK a few years ago, and they show with great clarity how a thief can easily obtain the details of somebody’s ATM card and then steal money from their account.

The process has become far more sophisticated these days, and the criminals now use tiny cameras installed above the ATM to record PIN numbers as these are entered on the keypad by unsuspecting victims, along with a ‘skimming’ device, attached to the machine itself which records the information embedded in the card.

The technique shown below was the forerunner of the ‘skimming’ system now being used, but it clearly demonstrates how easy it was - and still is - for thieves to steal your hard-earned cash.

According to the banks, the best way to avoid your card being ‘skimmed’ is to only use ATM’s where the slot (where you put your card) is illuminated. If it’s not illuminated, there’s a good chance that the machine has been tampered with. Not foolproof, I suppose, but something to watch out for.

The thief places the card 'trap' inside the slot of the ATM

Just 2 minutes later, an unsuspecting customer arrives to use the machine

The machine holds the customer's card, but help is coming ... in the shape of the thief

The thief sympathises and tries to be of assistance

He tells the customer to re-enter his PIN ... and memorises the number


No luck - the machine still won't work, so both men leave ...

... but the thief returns and removes the card from the machine

He withdraws cash from the customer's account, pockets the ATM card and leaves

How's it done? A small v-shaped 'trap' is made from thin x-ray film, with small notches cut in the sides to retain the ATM card

The plastic film is inserted into the slot of the ATM

When fully inserted, it's almost impossible to notice but just the tips of the 'trap' are left protruding

When the 'trap' is removed, it brings the attached ATM card with it

Neatly held by the notches, the card becomes the property of the thief and, with the memorised PIN, the bank account can be easily emptied

A television news item on how skimmers work

A Star Is Born But The Truth Is Buried - The Manipulation Of Susan Boyle

Call me a cynic, but there’s something very suspicious about the Susan Boyle phenomenon.

Unless you’ve been living on Mars for the last month or so, you’ll have heard about Susan – the frumpy, middle-aged Scottish spinster who shot to stardom in the face of ridicule on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.”

When she appeared on the stage, the suppressed giggles from the audience in that Glasgow theatre and the patronising questions from Simon Cowell, the main judge on the show, prepared everyone for a bit of a laugh-fest. Her frizzy hair, dumpy figure and plain features hid the fact that she had a beautiful singing voice, and when she launched into a song from “Les Miserables” the sudden shock that resounded around the auditorium, followed by a standing ovation, soon reverberated around the world, and an instant star was born.

The judges .. Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell

There have been, collectively, over 50 million hits on YouTube videos of her performance, and the media are now beating a path to her door in the backwaters of Scotland to try and gain an interview, with predictions already being made that she’ll soon have a number one album on the charts (click on the YouTube link below to see the video ... if you haven't seen it already!)


Good for her, and shame on people like Simon Cowell and the “Britain’s Got Talent” audience that night for judging a book by its cover and apparently not expecting a silk purse to emerge from a sow’s ear.

But, looking at the whole thing realistically, are they expecting us to believe that the judges on that show had absolutely no inkling that Susan Boyle had a fantastic voice? Somebody or other would have heard her singing beforehand at prior auditions, well before she appeared on the show, and I simply can’t believe that Cowell and the other judges hadn’t already either heard her themselves, or been forewarned about what was coming.

It was good theatre for them to mock Susan before she started to sing. The raised eyebrows and snide look from Cowell as she told him she was aged 47 was enough to gee up the audience and get them to jump on the wagon and join in with the suppressed ridicule.

And then – suddenly – it was all amazement from the judges as she started to sing “I Dreamed A Dream” … and once this amazing transition had hit the media, it was a guaranteed couple of million more viewers for the remainder of the series as people tuned in to see if she could win the whole shebang.

Clever stuff, but nothing new in the shallow world of entertainment makeovers where there’s very little room for the truth, and where people are regularly manipulated in the chase for the almighty dollar. The problem is, people like Susan Boyle – an innocent, suddenly at large in the shark pool of media stardom - can be damaged in the process, as their money-making potential is relentlessly exploited by agents and entrepreneurs.

Let’s hope her down-to-earth, no-nonsense personality helps her to insulate herself from the cynical exploitation that’s sure to follow.

One thing’s for certain, however, is that no amount of air-brushing and make-up will ever change Susan’s basic appearance – and I’m not being unkind in saying that. Her talent lies within her and, thank goodness, there would be no need to try and change her physical appearance to make her more ‘attractive’.

Which can’t be said for Kellie Cameron, an Australian television personality who’s recently decided to change her image from one incarnation – where she was a member of a children’s entertainment group called ‘Hi-Five’ – to another … a sultry, semi-clothed seductress on the front cover of Ralph Magazine.

BEFORE

AFTER

It’s created a turmoil of criticism, with parents saying she’s betrayed the children who’ve grown up with her television shows, and with others saying she’s suddenly become something of a tart. What she does with her life, I guess, is her business but it seems a shame that someone with natural beauty, such as she has, should be airbrushed into something that she probably isn’t, and displayed as nothing more than a masturbatory image for frustrated Aussie men.

It’s all a part of the cynical entertainment industry, and it happens all over the world. The truth is often either hidden or distorted by cosmetic – or digital – surgery and, like so many other things to do with the media, one never knows what’s truth and what’s fiction.

And here’s how they lie to us, digitally:

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Dealing In Death - The Journey To The Dinner Table

The annual calderon (pilot whale) killing in the Faroe Islands is certain to attract condemnation again this year, as it does every year, normally during July or August.

Animal welfare groups and a large proportion of the general public are regularly sickened by this very visible event, when the waters around the islands run red with the blood of slaughtered calderon, and the photographs (below) certainly show it to be a violent affair.

Briefly, when a school of these pilot whales (relatives of the dolphin) are sighted near one of the islands, large groups of inhabitants take to boats and drive the animals towards the shore, where they become beached. Whaling knives are used to sever their spinal cords, which cuts the blood supply to their brains, resulting in death – it’s claimed – within seconds.

Those that aren’t actually beached, are secured with metal gaffs and dragged into shallow water before they’re killed. On average, around 950 animals from an estimated population of about 778,000 are killed in this way annually.

In the face of severe criticism for the perceived ‘barbarity’ of this traditional event, the Faroese defend the killings by saying that both the meat and blubber of pilot whales have long been, and continue to be, a staple part of their national diet, and that the whales have been caught and killed in this way since at least 1584 – well over 400 years.

The annual catch of around 950 animals is roughly equivalent to 500 tons of meat and blubber – about 30% of all meat produced locally in the Faroes - and every family gets a share, as well as local hospitals and aged care facilities. Virtually none of the meat is sold, so there is no commercial aspect to the tradition.

Take a look at the photographs below. Bloodthirsty? Yes. Perhaps offensive to look at? Maybe. But think about what you’re looking at.

The only real difference between what’s going on here in the Faroes and what’s happening in your local abbatoir is the fact that the slaughter in the Faroes is visible, whereas you never get to see what’s happening when cattle, pigs, sheep and chickens are killed behind the closed doors of your local slaughterhouse, for you to serve up at your dinner table.

The herding of the animals, the use of knives, the methods of killing, the vast amounts of blood, the disembowelling and the butchering are all common to both the practice in the Faroes and to that of just about any slaughterhouse around the world.

In an abbatoir, cattle are subjected to electric shock (to stun) and then hung upside down, where their carotid arteries are severed, resulting in them bleeding to death, or sometimes they have a bolt-gun applied to their heads, which supposedly kills them instantly.

Poultry processors slaughter birds using methods such as shackling them and then electrically stunning them into paralysis before killing them, and sometimes (it’s been claimed) by drowning conscious birds in tanks of scalding water. Pigs are often gassed with carbon dioxide before being killed.

What’s more, mistreatment of animals in slaughterhouses before they’re killed is widespread, and difficult to control, as can be seen from this video posted on YouTube by the UK animal welfare group, Animal Aid.

The truth, therefore, is that the Faroes calderon killings merely show us – in stark detail - how some animals are slaughtered, whereas perhaps the pre-packaged, sanitised way most of us buy our meat at the butcher’s shop or supermarket only serves to insulate us from the truth.

Hate Mail - The Mindless Devaluing Of The Internet

Islamic militants do themselves no favours when they murder and maim in the name of their religion, because the world despises them.

They say that killing ‘infidels’ (non-believers) is a divine command, contained in the writings of the Qur’an, but the vast majority of Muslims disagree with this, and condemn the violence that’s being perpetrated around the world in the name of Islam.

It’s perhaps a futile hope, but one day the militants might get to realise that what they’re doing will never achieve their stated aims – the Islamisation of the entire world – so long as they're in a very small minority … which they certainly are, and will remain.

So, it’s totally unfair and unreasonable to blame Muslims as a whole for the terror being inflicted on the world and it’s despicable that anti-Muslim hatred should be so rampant within western and other non-Muslim countries, purely because of the actions of a murderous minority.

Just because someone comes from a Muslim country, and perhaps dresses a bit differently and worships half-a-dozen times a day, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re terrorists, in the same way as it doesn’t necessarily mean that every Italian is a member of the Mafia, nor every member of a motorcycle club is a criminal.

An example of what I mean is contained in the series of photographs below. They’ve been circulating around the internet for a long time with the sole intention of stirring up hatred and yet, as with so much on the internet, there’s more to the photographs than meets the eye.

The text accompanying the photographs goes like this:

THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THIS!!!!! MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON US!!!

An 8-year-old child was caught in a market in Iran for stealing bread. In the name of Islam he is being punished, his arm will be crushed by a car. He will lose forever the possibility to use his arm again. Is this a religion of peace and love? No religion can ever justify such hideous crimes.

Pass it on ......let the world know what's happening in the name of Islam... Pass this to all, for public awareness. It must be sent WORLD WIDE! Even if this message is sent to you more than once, just keep on passing it on!

The description accompanying this inflammatory e-mail is a load of bullshit. The young boy was not being punished for stealing (Islamic Sharia law forbids, anyway, severe punishment for a child who has not yet reached puberty, no matter what the crime) and he certainly didn’t “lose forever the possibility to use his arm again” as the final photograph in the series shows.

The real story and photographs, attributed to photographer Siamak Yari, were published in 2005 on the Iranian news website Peyke Iran. The young boy was part of a street magic act (known as ‘Maareke giry’) and was performing the stunt for money, with (allegedly) his father being the man with the microphone in the first image.

As despicable as it may seem to use a child in this way, the truth of the matter was far different from that contained in the subsequent e-mail – an e-mail that 4 years later continues to circulate.

Children are exploited in many countries throughout the world, and such exploitation deserves to be thoroughly condemned. So, in my opinion, it would have been far more valuable to have circulated the photographs with the truth - in order to highlight child exploitation - than it was to try and inflame peoples’ emotions and encourage hatred for a religion that, in general terms, doesn’t deserve it.

Community Catastrophe - Economic Gloom Runs Deeper Than Job Losses

When major changes occur anywhere in the world, it’s always the ‘little people’ who suffer the most.

The worldwide economic disaster that’s recently hit has seen an increasing avalanche of job losses, home losses and bankruptcies, both here in Australia and around the world in general, and whilst those at the top of the tree are often insulated by their massive compensatory cash payouts, the real working people - those who actually provide the profits - are being discarded and ruined.

On a local level, the situation at the Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine in Western Australia shows what’s happening on a global scale. The mine’s owners, BHP Biliton, suddenly closed the operation in January of this year due to the downturn in nickel prices and the residents of Ravensthorpe (and it’s coastal overflow town of Hopetoun) are now facing widespread ruin.

Despite BHP Biliton recently announcing a $A4 billion half-yearly profit, and for years having had a policy of encouraging people to build homes and start businesses in the area because of a promised mine life of 25-30 years, the ‘Big Australian’ simply announced the closure to the workforce via a press release, and without any warning, leaving thousands of people high and dry.

As a result, about 1800 people have now lost their jobs, the number of children at the local school in Hopetoun has fallen from around 195 to just 50 and at least 250 homes have been left empty as people move away from what will become two virtual ghost towns.

The towns were built on the promises of BHP Biliton that the mine would have a long life, but in the nature of big business it’s the profit and loss statement that’s more important than the livelihoods of its workers, and it’s likely that similar things will be happening to varying degrees around the world for years to come.

… It was for a very different reason that the Russian city of Promyshlennyi became a ghost town. When the Soviet Union collapsed some 20 years ago, vast cuts were made in the military budget, and funds dried up for towns and cities that had previously supported or housed the military and their families.

As a consequence, many communities were abandoned as the residents left to try and find work and housing in other areas, and Promyshlennyi was one of those communities.

The photographs below were taken by Oleg Shvets and clearly show the stark sadness of a community that’s been abandoned and left to the elements, leaving behind only decaying reminders of what was once a thriving city. Schools, hospitals, shops and government buildings now lay in ruins and the people have gone.

Let’s hope the same thing doesn’t happen to towns like Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun – or, indeed, to any other towns around the world – as the economic crisis continues to take its toll.

School classroom

School gymnasium

The sign says: 'Skating Rink'