Junction News

Samoan Economics and Time Travel

2011-05-10T19:08:00.001+01:00

Samoa - Not ugly

Samoa is a small nation in the Oceanic continent. In order to improve its Economic prospects in the future it has decided to travel back in time, quite literally. You see the Pacific Island nation currently lies in the time zone GMT-12 or WST meaning that if right now its 12 pm in London, Samoans are only beginning their day at 12 midnight, they are however, 21 hours behind their relatively speaking neighbours in Canberra.

Samoans haven't been free from major overhauls in recent history. In 2009 the law was changed to force civilians to drive on the left hand side of the road, the same as is done in key "neighbours" Japan and Australia.

So what is the problem with the time differences between Samoa and its neighbouring trade partners? Well you see the President claims they are losing two days of trading by having such a big time difference between New Zealand and Australia, and Samoa. As he says himself, "While it's Friday here, it's Saturday in New Zealand and when we're at church Sunday, they're already conducting business in Sydney and Brisbane." So this measure should help improve economic productivity between these nations and Samoa from who it gets the majority of its imports and to whom exports amount to 85%.

Some in the nation have expressed reservations about the move however; Samoa had been noted for having the worlds last sunset. It will now join the nation's who have it first. However, the President has countered this argument that tourists will be able to cross the date-line by going to American Samoa and celebrate special occasions twice. Analysts have also stated that links between Samoans and the disapora in Australasia will be strengthened as a result.

The new time zone is expected to come into effect in 2012.

EU imposes arms embargo in Syria

2011-05-09T23:12:00.000+01:00

The 27 state European Union has imposed an arms embargo on the beleaguered Middle Eastern Nation of Syria. Part of the so-called Arab Spring Syria has seen numerous anti-Government protests in the past few weeks, many of which have seen increasingly shocking and violent repercussions from the regime of President Assad.

Amateur video captured around the country reports troops backed by armoured tanks entering the main cities and rounding up civilians and the regime continues to block the entrance of journalists into the state. In the past six weeks, unofficial reports have stated that 3000 have been jailed and hundreds more have sacrificed their lives in the hopes of independence.

This new sanction follows events Friday when a number of top Syrian officials were sanctioned and the US has threatened to take further steps if the crackdown on protests continue. However, internationally there has been no consensus on what to do about Syria and it appears to me that these sanctions will clearly fall on deaf ears. As usual in these circumstances it is the civilians who will suffer the most.

Weekend Randomness: Playmate Found Mummified

2011-05-07T21:46:00.000+01:00

Yvette Vickers

The body of Yvette Vickers, a former playboy playmate was found severely decomposed in her Beverly Hills home this week. A neighbour of her's had claimed that the B-Movie actress had not been seen outside her home since the Summer.

It was this neighbour (Susan Savage) who noticed cobwebs forming on the Ms Vickers' letterbox. There she found the cordless phone off the hook and the electric heater still on. She claimed the body of her neighbour was barely recognisable.

Coroners have yet to conclusively identify the body of Ms Vickers at this stage. However, police have stated that the body could have been there anywhere from a couple of months to a year. Her death is not being treated as suspicious.

Weekend Randomness: The Case of Tokyo's Oldest Man

2011-05-06T23:15:00.000+01:00

This story is one of the site's most popular Weekend Randomness post originally posted on the 31st of July last year. Its a genuinely bizarre story and one of my personal favourites.

The current world life expectancy average is 67.5 years with the Japanese being the most long lived population in the world with average life expectancy of 82.6 years. This contrasts with the average in Swaziland of just 39.6 years. This weekends random news comes from Tokyo, a thriving metropolis of nearly 14,000,000 people.

So in such a long lived population there is a lot of interest in just who is the most aged resident in the city. Up until this week the record was held by one Sogen Kato a man of 111 years. The record for world's oldest man is held by another Japanese person Tamoji Tanabe in the Southern City of Miyakonojo. He is also 111 years.

Now this is where our story takes an eerie turn. Recently the record keepers in Tokyo were updating their list of centenarians in preparation for Japan's Elderly Day (best idea ever) taking place in September.. He hadn't been seen in public in 30 years and his family had claimed him to be a devout Buddhist choosing the path of a Buddha on earth without food, water or contact with the outside world. Every time the authorities wanted to search the house they were told Kato was out of town.

However, this past week family members reported seeing a skull in his old bedroom. The police called to the house that same day. What they found was not the elderly man they had been looking for but his mummified corpse. Sogen Kato was lain on a bed in pajamas and a blanket strewn over him. He had been dead for the entire time, 30 years.

The police have now begun an inquiry into his family members questioning whether they may have fraudulently claimed over 9.5million yen in pension payments. 2.5 million yen was withdrawn from his account earlier this month.

Racism and the French Football Federation

2011-05-06T17:09:00.001+01:00

Laurent Blanc

In one of the most shocking stories I have happened upon since starting this blog, a tape was uncovered this week outlining plans held to introduce an ethnic quota in the French national football team. This has spurred the Football Federation into action organising an inquiry into the origins of such a tape.

The tape implicates people as high ranking as the French national coach Laurent Blanc and François Blaquart, National Technical Director in charge of youth coaching strategies. The investigative website Mediapart initially broke the story and transcribed the story for the media.

The two are initially heard discussing the probem of dual nationality players who are trained in France but then leave to play for other nations. An under-21 coach then puts forward the idea of limiting the number of dual national players to 30%. Blaquart then agrees to the idea of a quota as long as it remains unspoken.

However, perhaps the most shocking of comments come from Blanc who states "You have the impression that they really train the same prototype of players, big, strong, powerful... What is there that is currently big, strong, powerful? The blacks. And that's how it is. ...God knows that in the training centers... well, there are many."

François Blaquart

Blanc denies there were ever talks of quotas however, he has stated that certain ideas when taken out of context could be seen in a bad light. He also apologised for having hurt any feelings.

However, this is a problem that is unlikely to simply disappear. The FFF has now launched an inquiry into the remarks and its President has stated he had no knowledge such discussions were taking place.
The French Sports Minister told RTL radio that these comments were serious and that she expects a result of this inquiry by Monday.

A number of key figures have called for resignations and indeed Mr Balquart has already been suspended on Saturday. Depending on the findings of this investigation there could be considerable repercussions for the landscape of French football , in this debate which has not only re-opened a debate on racism in football but also ignited tensions in the whole of French society.

Junction News: Starvation in Africa: An all too Common Tale

2011-05-05T23:47:00.000+01:00

The site's most popular story and undoubtedly one of its most tragic. Originally posted on the 24th of July last it details the world's continuous lack of assistance to its most vulnerable people.

Today I read a shocking report on the current situation of food shortages in the central African nation of Niger. Here hunger is threatening up to eight million people in the nation, half of its roughly 16 million population. The nation is in dire need of rainfall after drought has destroyed the lifestock of the largely nomadic country. The great hunger also threatens 2 million people in areas of the neighbouring countries of Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and northern Nigeria.

The UN World Food Programme says it only has half of the $213 million people it claims it needs to up the distribution of emergency food aid. Response to the crisis has so far been quite slow. The reason given for this is both obvious and devastating.

Everyone remembers the Ethiopian famine of the 1990's, the horrible devastating pictures of mal-nutrition and deformities and diseases that resulted from it. However, we are yet to see such horrifying pictures appearing on advertisements for charity organisations in the West. The question we have to ask ourselves is why. Why do we need to be shamed into action. Lets look at some statistics to better illustrate my point.

Every year 15 million children die of hunger. They don't have a voice to tell you about their situation but they are there in pain and suffering, right now. Over 160 million kids under 5 currently worldwide are what is classified as malnourished. And here is a fascinating statistic. If you take the assets of the three richest people in the world it is greater than the combined GDP of all of the world's Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Starvation has no place in the civilisation we have created in 2010 (not to say that people arent deeply affected by hunger in parts of the West). If we wait until we are again shamed into action it will be too late. For the estimated 800 million people in the world who are currently starving that will most certainly be too late.

Opinion: AV vote in Britain

2011-05-05T16:30:00.000+01:00

Perhaps in my old (20) age I am becoming a little bit overly nationalistic as I've noticed that my last two strongly opinion driven pieces have been tinged with a somewhat anti-British sentiment. I am in no way anti-British or indeed any nation in the world so if any of you feel this way I would like to open this piece with an apology.

However, the media's treatment of tomorrow's AV referendum has me somewhat baffled. For those of you not in the know about UK politics the country will go to the polls today to decide whether to keep the country's current first past the post electoral voting system or to adopt the Alternative Voting System. These will be explained after the page break.
Firstly it has to be stated that the idea of a UK-wide referendum is somewhat foreign to the British people, with the last major occurrence in 1975, debating whether it would be wise for the country to enter the European Union. This is a decision which has proved deeply controversial ever since.

Secondly, there is the issue of explaining AV to the public. The BBC, Britain's national broadcaster, has ran hilariously uninformative advertisements which simply detail the literal changes to the voting process. It just states that electors will have to number their candidates in order of preference. It does not explain what happens after this or how the election process will actual change should it be enforced. For this explanation, it directs people to its website. Indeed the media has seemed to run a campaign dealing with how terribly confusing the system would be for the public.

Nick Clegg - Lib Dem leader and Reform Supporter

Other sticking points for the no campaign has bee the issue of cost and the difficulty in the smooth running of an AV campaign as well the bizarre assumption of AV as giving people more than one vote. As an Irish person all of these arguments are somewhat stupefying.

Firstly, let me succinctly explain the AV voting system. Each voter is presented with a list of candidates who they number from one down. The first choice votes are counted and if no representative manages to achieve 50 percent of the vote the lowest scoring candidate is eliminated and their second preference votes re-distributed until such a situation as one candidate does receive over 50 percent of the vote. Done.

You see in Ireland we are no stranger to referendums. Since the foundation of the state there have been roughly 30 national referendums on issues as broad as abortion, divorce and electoral reform. Our constitution sates that every time the Constitution is to be changed that a referendum must be held. This vote is binding. No such remit exists in Britain whereby Governments are not obliged to abide by the decisions of referendums ( although I'm sure that they will).

David Cameron- Tory Leader and anti-Reform

So because they are legislated by by law they are often carried out when it would be easier for the Governemnt not to have them, for example the Lisbon treaty referendums. This means that the Government wants the people to be as informed as possible in order to get a strong mandate at the polls ( although usually the main parties have the same positions on the referendums). Ad spots are run on TV explaining the proposed changes and comprehensive brochures are distributed to every household in the country. If you want the public informed (and I have proved it is not a difficult issue) then it is not a difficult thing to do.

Also in Ireland, we implement the Proportional Representation System in our General Elections which it is argued is more complex than the proposed AV system and may even be more costly. However, can the average Irish person explain it to you, yes. Is the average Irish person any more intelligent than the average Brit? I wouldn't imagine so. So I would say this point is deeply condescending. As for cost, well there are few things more important than a genera election, so I think a nation shouldn't be afraid of spending money on it.

This entire debate reminds me of the utter horror that accompanied the establishment of a coalition Government at the end of the last General Election in the UK. This sort of outrage was literally laughed at in this country where the idea of a majority Government would be far more shocking,

Perhaps it is because we are a small nation where small bog fires make nation news but it always surprises me how inward looking some nations in the world are. the UK and Ireland are close in both Geography and cultural links but it seems as though the UK would benefit from a look across the Irish Sea every once in a while to see that change is now always something to be feared.

Junction News Anniversary : Homosexuality in Africa

2011-05-04T22:14:00.000+01:00

This article was one of the blog's most popular over the course of the past year. LGBT issues in Africa are still largely overlooked and LGBT Africans still face a huge amount of persecution.

Last week saw the passing of Ireland's civil partnership bill in the two houses of the Irish Parliament which will enact some of the same freedoms enjoyed by heterosexual couples to gay people in Irish law qhen it is enacted later this year or early 2011. Considering "buggery" was only decriminalised in this country in 1993 it is fair to say that this is a milestone for the country, still impacted heavily by the Catholic Church. However, on an EU basis Ireland ranks poorly when stood next to its Western European brethren and its clear that there is a long way to go.

As a gay man I am genuinely interested in gay rights worldwide and so last night's channel 4 documentary in its populr Dispatches series was a must for me. If you live in the UK or Ireland you may watch it on 4OD here, Africa's Last Taboo. The show follows an African journalist as he travels around what he refers to as his continent visiting Kenya, Uganda and Malawi. The programme states that over two thirds of African nations have laws condemning acts of homosexuality. 17 of these countries maintain laws passed down by the British in colonial times. The programme all in all was fascinating and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in LGBT rights. It spurred me into taking a closer look into the issue on the world's most conservative continent.

One of my most startling findings was the number of countries that have legalised lesbian sex but have maintained a ban on male consensual sex. Such countries include Kenya, Malawi, the Seychelles and Sierra Leone. I can only hypothesize as to the reasons for this. The lawmakers and figures in power in most African countries are heterosexual men. Perhaps they would be more sympathetic to the cause of lesbians. Ill let you hypothesize as to why. I have explained before about sexual myths in Africa to do with AIDS perhaps some of these same myths govern attitudes towards female sexuality.

Another personally shocking finding is that attitudes to homosexuality on an Africa wide basis are if anything becoming more and more conservative. For example, last year around the same time that is outlawed the death penalty the Government of Burundi re-criminalized homosexuality. Uganda has also had a furious debate in recent times about tightening its laws against people in consenting same-sex relationships and Swaziland is considering repealing the law legalizing lesbian relationships.

But while we may call these laws draconian and offensive to some Western sensibilities it cannot be said to fly in the face in the will of the African people. For example, here in Ireland there is a sizable majority in favour of homosexual marriage however, in 2010 a poll in Uganda sowed that just 11% found homosexuality morally acceptable. Even more staunch criticism was felt in Cameroon, Kenya and Zambian with just 2% of respondents believing homosexuality to be a morally acceptable practice. A similar figure (95%) was found in Tanzania. Even in Africa's most liberal nation when it comes to homosexual practice, South Africa, attacks against homosexual's are rampant especially so called "corrective rapes" on lesbians

What is the reason for these attitudes? Well some countries enforce stringent Shariah law, others are subject to major influence from American evangelical preachers who profess the benefits of old colonial laws. It is interesting so that many anti-gay rights groups then profess the evils of Western culture as influencing and infecting the minds of young Africans.

Whatever your own personal attitude to homosexuality is it cannot be ignored that the almost blanket silence of gay rights groups is deeply damaging to the continent. Ravaged by Aids the gay community largely remains uneducated about the dangers of unprotected sex. In the documentary we meet a young sex worker in Kenya who was outcasted from his family for being gay. His sister was also banished because her parents feared she may turn out the same way. The young man is forced into prostitution to support his sister as no-one else will have him because of his sexuality. However, many of his clients are supposed heterosexual men who lead double lives and have unprotected sex with him and then carry the infection back to their wives.

It has to be said that as the title of the programme suggests homosexuality really is Africa's last taboo. The lives of millions of gay African's are being thrown into turmoil by the conservative attitudes of people on the continent. Attacks on ordinary African citizens are absolutely common. In my opinion all life is precious. If two people find love whether gay or straight it should be celebrated. Africa needs education to overcome the AIDS epidemic. perhaps gay rights should be on the curriculum.

Junction News Anniversary : First Cousin Marriage in Britain

2011-05-04T00:00:00.000+01:00

Originally posted in August of last year this post dealt with the thorny issue of first cousin marriage among the Pakistani community in Britain. It was written based on information contained in Channel 4's dispatches series.

A fascinating documentary on Britain's Channel 4 last night (available on 4OD for British and Irish residents) shed light on the common practice of first cousin marriage in the British Pakistani population. The reporter Tazeen Ahmed documents her family's story on the Channel 4 website also. Her grand-parents were first cousins. Four of her uncles were deaf and her mother was the only daughter of 6 to survive past being a toddler.

Despite making up just 1.5% of the population a third of all children born with rare genetic conditions are ethnic Pakistanis. A half of all Pakistani's in Britain marry their first cousins. A child born to first cousin parents is ten times more likely to be born with recessive genetic disorders including deafness, blindness and child mortality. Cultures in Bangladesh, West Africa and the Middle East also partake in the practice but generally to a much lesser extent.
When her grand-parents married the extent of scientific research on the subject of first cousin marriage was quite limited and thus it wasn't until much later that Today however, there are currently 70 studies in the UK alone proclaiming the problems that arise as a result of first cousin marriage.

However, in the program Ms Ahmed meets with numerous people who proclaim the benefits of the practice saying that it helps maintain close ties between members of a family. Many said their families had been unaffected by the practice or denied its links to first cousin marriage. She met an Imam who simply stated that Shariah law says that there is nothing wrong with the practice and said he couldn't comment on the issue. When he was given the research on the issue he declined to comment.

And why is the opinion of the Imam so important in the battle against the practice? Well Pakistani Britains generally come from strict Muslim backgrounds and feel victimized when politicians speak out against the dangers of first cousin marriages, as if it is another prong in the West's ongoing war on Islam. Thus, politically the issue is ignored for fear of losing votes and traditional Imams see nothing wrong with the practice. This has to change to have any hope of saving children from needless severe disabilities.

The Death of Osama Bin Laden

2011-05-03T18:30:00.007+01:00

Obama watches real time footage of the attack

The internet and media outlets will no doubt be abuzz with the aftermath of the death of Osama Bin Laden for the coming weeks and months. His killing on the night of Sunday the 1st of May in Abbottabad has been welcomed by massive celebrations at the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and by public representatives of all political denominations across the world.

The death raises a number of questions. Firstly, there will be retaliation from Al Qaeda, it is a question of when, not if. It is up to security forces to foil attempts as successfully as they have many times in the past. Osama Bin Laden has undoubtedly become a martyr for the cause of Islamic Fundamentalism and indeed for many he had become a spiritual figurehead for many extremists in the Church. The second question is a little more complex.

Osama Bin Laden was killed, as previously stated in Abbottabad, a rather sleepy suburb of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. This has lead analysts to question the commitment of the Pakistani Government to the so called "War on Terror". However, a senior US representative has told an international media cohort that the operation was a shared achievement by the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Analysts find this hard to believe given how the Pakistani Government was not informed of the Operation, carried out on their soil. The coming weeks will be fascinating in terms of Pakistani, US relations.

Osama Bin Laden

The death will also be subject, naturally, to a number of conspiracy theories or people who doubt the authenticity of the killing. People are currently demanding images of the corpse of Osama are released to the public. I find this bizarre for two reasons. Firstly, if Osama was alive couldn't he simply make a video proclaiming he is alive and do a happy dance (or something similar) and secondly, Obama surely would have done all he could to ensure it wa shim who had died because if he was to appear publically again it would most certainly destroy Obama's Presidency. However, there are always conspiracy theories which accompany these things.

The assassination of Osama has importantly also, if only for a few short moments brought together all sides of the political spectrum in the US, in perhaps a way only previously witnessed during the September 11th attacks themselves. Even prominent Republican pundits such as Glenn Beck and Bill O' Reilly have congratulated the President's handling of the situation. So, at least in the short time the Obama administration will certainly have the wind in its sails. Obama may use this to try to garner support for some of his key policies or perhaps simply try to ride a wave of support up until the Presidential Elections. One thing is for sure, the next few months will be an interesting one for the American Government.

Junction News Anniversary : Child Sex Tourism in Asia

2011-05-03T00:00:00.001+01:00

Originally posted on the 19th of July last this post deals with the worrying phenomenon of Child Sex Tourism in Asia. Unfortunately, it remains a problem largely ignored by the West.

Today Mikhail Pletnev, a prominent and Grammy award winning Russian pianist took to the stand for a brief court appearance In Thailand charged with the rape of a 14 year old boy in Pattaya. The conditions of his bail require him to return to the court every 12 days but between these appearances he is free to travel as he wishes internationally. The maximum sentences for the proposed crime is 20 years. Pletnev has stated he is not guilty of the charge.

This allegation, raises again the issue of child sex tourism in Asia. Recent high profile cases of paedophilia in South East Asia have been the conviction of former pop start Gary Glitter and in Ireland only roughly a year ago a lauded Irish language poet was accused of similar offenses in the same region. Its clear that this is a growing and worrying problem.

In 2009 there were 2,888 people charged with child molestation in Thailand and the police are getting tougher on offenders. However. Thailand is a nation that has no specific laws outlawing the ownership of child pornography and has been known for taking a lenient line on offenders in the past. Take for example the case of Swiss banker Cornel Wietlisbach, a man convicted of the abuse of young boys in Chiang Mai. He was originally facing 4 years in prison. This was halved because he co-operated with the police. In the end he was released on parole immediately and deported to Switzerland after paying the equivalent of a $125 fine.

But why do paedophiles travel to poorer Asian nations for sex? There are a couple of reasons. Firstly, in Thailand for example the prisons are severely over crowded and the criminal justice system is simply unable to cope. Also, the sheer poverty of the people in comparison to the Western tourists plays a huge role. Many defendants testimonies are severely altered or retracted after small bribes from the offender. This also helps to explain the incredibly high levels of child prostitution in these nations.

In Cambodia for example, the number of prosecutions has actually decreased in this area year on year while the number of victims has increased. The Government has failed to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of child trafficking. Child sex workers are often sold into the profession by naive or fully aware parents. They can be found up and down the country in night clubs, massage parlours and karaoke bars. In many places the children are encouraged to drink extraordinary amounts of alcohol as clients are forced to pay for everything the child has drank.

Its clear that in the Indian sub continent and former French Polynesian nations child-sex trafficking has become an increasingly worrying epidemic. Its is sadly clear that paedophilia will as it always has remain a problem in human society but we have managed to control it to some degree in Western societies by not only having laws written on paper but also enforcing these laws. It is this crucial difference that has evaded authorities across Asia. And until this happens millions of children will continue to be molested and abused daily in the worlds most populous continent.

Tornadoes Ravage the South of America

2011-05-01T18:30:00.001+01:00

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

As the world *sigh* celebrated the Royal *sigh* wedding on Friday the people of the Southern states in America were dealing with the aftermath of a multitude of terrifying tornadoes in concentration across 6 states. As of today the lives of some 340 people were claimed by the extreme weather conditions, the majority of which some from the State of Alabama.

The city of Tuscaloosa was badly effected with officials reporting 1,600 people were treated by medical personnel. 31counties among the state's 67 were effected by the storms. President Obama signed the State's state of emergency act and has ordered the mobility of federal services to supplement the local efforts.

The city of Hackleburg, Alabama has essentially been leveled by the disaster and 29 people in the town of 1,600 lost their lives. On the 28th of April the National Weather Service began carrying out a survey of the scale of the disaster. Owing to its scope the results may not be released for weeks.

100 Posts

2011-05-01T17:01:00.000+01:00

Today marks the 100 post of Junction News. Thanks to everyone for the support over the past year-ish. Everyday throughout this week (Monday-Friday) I will be re-posting some of my favourite entries as well as updating you on all the latest news and current affairs. So it should be a busy week for the site but hopefully I can count on your continued support in the future!

Weekend Randomness: The Tattoo and the Murder Conviction

2011-04-30T19:54:00.000+01:00

Anthony Garcia

Tattoos are something that often polarizes opinion. While some consider them a beautiful form of body art, others consider them a painful laser surgery waiting to happen ( or at least something to be regretted down the line). Few, I would be willing to bet, would consider them possible evidence in a murder trial.

This weeks Weekend Randomness deals with the case of one Anthony Garcia who hails from the city of Los Angeles, California. In 2004 Garcia was arrested regarding driving offenses and while in custody had his tattoos photographed by the police. Fast forward 4 years and LA Sergent Kevin Lloyd was searching through a mugshot book when he happened on the picture of a bare chested Garcia.

The Sergent had been puzzled for years as to the murderer of John Juarez a member of the rival Pico Rivera gang in a Hispanic neighbourhood in the city. As he saw Mr Garcia's tattoos he realised that the emblazoned across his chest was a map of the crime scene where Juarez was gunned down. Just below his next were the words Rivera Kills. The victim shown in the tattoo is a Mr Peanut character. The Pico Rivera gang which the victim belonged to were known as the Peanuts commonly in the area.

After Mr Garcia was taken in for questioning he was placed into a cell accompanied by two undercover officers. They asked about his tattoo to which he proudly explained the whole story, then recorded on tape. Garcia is due to be sentenced at Norwalk superior Court on May 19. He could face as much as 65 years or life in prison.

Opinion: In Protest Against the Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T04:31:00.000+01:00

*sigh*

To many people in this world of ours, the impending nuptuals of Prince William and Kate Middleton will mean precious little. To me these people are what could be described as mentally sane for fewer things in this world irritate me more than the coverage of the wedding between one man and one woman, one of whom happens to have been born into an overpaid, underworked family.

I think it is fair to say I am not the greatest supporter of the British monarchy, or indeed any monarchy for that matter. The very idea of handing over millions of pounds to a group of people based solely on their bloodline is in many ways the most ugly manifestation of the human condition. We should celebrate talent and achievement and protect our societies most vulnerable not commend its most henious decadencies.

However, I realise that many people in Britain are in support of the monarchic institution and therefore as it is their taxes that fund it they should be entitled to join in the festivities. It is the media coverage that really irks me, particularly that in the Irish media.

Ireland is a small nation with close ties to our British neighbours but also a chequered history. All major British networks are available in most Irish homes and British shops fill up the majority of the Irish high streets. However, there remains to some extent tensions between the two nationsover the disputed North and memories of our colonistaion which only fully ended in the early 1920s.

Did anyone hear Diana died?

Now I am by no means Nationalistic and I don't believe that Irish people are wrong to watch the wedding out of sense of patriotism. The above statement is more so to emphasis the ties between our two nations than what speerates us however, I wonder why the only two television broadcasters in this nation are streaming the wedding from early tomorrow morning until its conclusion. I mean we are definitely seperate nations, we established that in 1921 so to stream this event, to me, is as bizarre as streaming the marriage of the monarchs of Monaco or Spain. I feel no connection to these people, their tradition or their beliefs and wonder why any citizen outside the Commonwealth should be so involved in something of zero consequence to them.

I don't mean to put a dampener on a day which has such significance for so many people but I for one will not be brewing the twinnings and buttering up the crumpets tomorrow. To me the perfect fairytale wedding should remain just that, a fairytale.

President Obama's Birth Certificate

2011-04-27T16:56:00.001+01:00

Barrack Obama

In the past few hours President Barack Obama has released the long form copy of his birth certificate confirming he is in fact an American Citizen. Perhaps the headline should have read "Hussein" in American birth shocker or maybe another obvious choice would have been "PresidentTtakes Bizarre Decision to Prove he is American".

Numerous people have questioned the President as to his nationality since he began the race for the White House as far back as the last Democratic Caucases. One of the most notable of these critics is business tycoon and presenter of the US version of The Apprentice, Donald Trump. He has humbly stated his personal pride in "accomplishing someting no-one lese has accomplised. I am really honoured to have played such a big role in hopefuly getting rid of the issue". President Obama's comments on the issue were more dismissive of Mr. Trump's "achievement". He claimed, " We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We've got better stuff to do".

The reason for this entre controversy stems from the law in the US that states that those only naturally born US citizens can be allowed to occupy the highest office in the country. This means that if Obama was shown to have been born in his father's home nation of Kenya , then he would not be leigible to have been President. Other skeptics have argued that Obama should not be eligible due to the fact he was born on the offshore island State of Hawaii.

To me this entire arguement appears ridiculous. Barrack Obama received close to 70 million votes in the last US Presedential Election to John McCain's 60 million. This figure, represents a clear mandate from the American people, whether Black or White, Repulican or Democrat, American or Kenyan. The current President of Ireland was technically born in the United Kingdom and while this is a ceremonial office which I dispise completely I see no diminished capactity form her for this fact.

While I understand there is a considerable depth of patriotism in America, it would be wise for this nation to remember that it was built by immigrants and is considered a bastion of hope for many people wishing to achieve the often touted "American Dream". Barracj Obama perhaps represents the fullest realisation of this dream and perhaps in the future with a more open American people, any US citizen regardless of place of birth may be able to rise to office in the nation they call home.

Leave your comments below.

Weekend Randomness: The Georgian Woman who Brought Down the Internet

2011-04-22T20:00:00.004+01:00

Hayastan Shakarian - Could you trust this woman?

In my time away from the blog (and at the library) I've been missing my weekly randomness section quite a bit s today makes its triumphant return with a brilliant story about a 75 year old Georgian pensioner, Hayastan Shakarian, leaving the internet browsers of bot Georgia and Armenia without access for 8 hours last week.

Shakarian was searching for scrap metal near her home in the village of Ksani, Georgia when she came cross the fibre optic copper wire with as a Georgian minister put it "a view to stealing it". Taking into account her age she has been released pending further investigation, however, she may face up to three years in prison if properly convicted in the future.

The GRT company which operates the services effected by the cut has stated that they were astonished at how this woman was able to cut the effected cable and that such cables featre robust protection and such incidences are rare. The group also has branches in Turkey and Azerbaijan which were uneffected by this incident.

Homosexuality and the Case of the Quiet Footballers

2011-04-21T18:00:00.000+01:00

Anton Hysen

While thralling through the CNN website I came across an interesting piece on a professional footballer named Anton Hysen.You are unlikely to have of him before, playing as he does in the 4th division in Sweden, however, a recent interview with him has caused his name to rocket to the back pages of many major news wires on this side of the Atlantic. The reason, Hysen is gay.

Few sports are known to have such a masculine and tough image as that of football, at least in the British Isles. While the stamp out racism in football campaign has had some success and the recent backlash against Andy Gray and Richard Key's rather ignorant comments against a female line judge shows that sexism is being seen as unacceptable in the sport also. However, I know from my own experience that homophobic insults have their own place in the soccer stands, just as they do in playgrounds up and down the country.
While I don't claim to ever have been the victim of any severe homophobic bulying, nor do I profess to be a staunch gay rights campaigner I do take issue with such a climate existing in the locker room at football grounds across the world. For example the Croatian national manager has stated that as long as he is in charge no gays will be playing for Croatia and while Anton's decision has received widespread support his profile page on his club's web page was taken down due to the number of abusive comments placed on it by homophobic fans.

Justin Fashanu

Coming out is a dreadfully difficult time for any gay person. My experience with friends has shown my this and a number of these friends play sports such as Gaelic (Irish) Football and rugby. They are terrified of friends they have known for years turning their backs on them because of who they are. It is clear this issue will persist until such time as those with homophobic feelings are villified in such a way as those who are racist and and sexist rightfully are.

But the question persists of why there is a fear surrounding gay players in the major football leagues. The answer may lie in the sport's only other ever openly gay player, Justin Fashnu. Fashnu was a promising English player who was effectively forced to out himself after a British tabloid was siad to be going to print with an article about his affair with a prominent politician. Fashnu was already facing racist chants from the stands but the intensity was much greater followinghis outing in 1990. Ultimately, he took his own life, a result of an alleged sexual assault charge, the dreadful abuse he suffered and also the rejection he faced from his own circle of friends. His experiences, in my opinion, have undoubtedly made it difficult for top flight players to come out today.

Of course the FA still has a case to answer to in regards to its stance on homophobia. While it did approach footballers with a possible campaign against homophobia, all players who were approached by the FA refused to take part. The latest line from the governing body is that it is working with people on a constant basis on the issue and has developed a comprehensive strategy which it is striving to implement in the next 12 months.

http://redcardhomophobia.tumblr.com/

Agents are also shying away from the taboo issue in the sport. Media mogul Max Clifford has stated that he has a advised two of footballs biggest stars on his books to remain in the closet so as not to damage their marketability. Of course it is undoubtable that agents also played some role in the no show for the FA's muted anti-homophobia marketing campaign.

I have never encountered anyone who has ever faced persecution beyond the norm as a result of their sexual orientation, however, I recognise that it still persists to a great extent in the field of atlethics. I also know that if the prejudice is to be largely eradicated from the sport then what is necessary are role models. We ned to get to a stage where little Johnny is hanging a picture of a world class footballer on his wall who happens o be gay on his wall, his prize possesion. I am not an advocate of calling people heroes or courageous without merit but if we are to achieve this goal then we need more people of the caliber of Anton to come forward as who they are not for praise or sympathy or the attention of the world's media but as a marked blow for a more equal world where the last taboo of the world's most celebrated game is finally broken.

If you liked this post you may be interested in: Homosexuality in Africa

Reform in Cuba as Castro Steps Down?

2011-04-20T18:08:00.002+01:00

Fidel Castro

Around the world there are few leaders as well known as Fidel Castro. The leader of the small Communist nation of Cuba has been a key figure in International Politics for decades, owing to his conflicts with US presidents and close ties with other Communist or Socialist regimes. He has been awarded the" Golden Medal and the First Class Order of the National Flag" by everyone's favourite North Korean dictatorship in 2006 while in 1962 he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church by the then Pope John XXIII. These are just two of the many dubious accolades attained by Mr Castro in his long career spanning over 4 decades. However, in what had been suspected for months even years, he officially announced his resignation yesterday as leader of his country's Communist Party.

Political analysts are now pondering what ths may mean for the country. Perhaps the face at the top, Castro's brother Raul may not look so different but his policies do show the beginnings of a possibly bigger change for the small nation. The country is currently suffering economically and those with the power in Cuba are fully aware of this. Just this past Monday a raft of legislation was introduced in order to aid the suffering of ordinary Cubans.

Fidel 2?

These reforms will inroduce a sliver of a free market into the Communist State and also aim to decentralize the agricultural department and eradicate a thousand state jobs. Raul (80) is also backinga proposal to limit terms in the country's top job to 10 years, a stark contrast to the days of his brother.

While there is a glimmer of an open market showing through on the horizon, Raul rejects the position taken by the Chinese Communist Party in the last number of years saing it is fundamentally anti- Socialist. Analysts are now looking to who will take the number two spot vacated by Raul, a clear indication of who will be shaping the landscape of the Cuban society in the years to come.

And now because I can't think of a reason not to put it on here is that video once again.....

Gudhafi Remaining Defiant

2011-04-19T18:08:00.001+01:00

Colonel Gudhafi

Over the course of the break in updates the world watched in amazement as rovolts began all across North Africa and the Middle East. However, none as yet seem to have gone on as long or are as bloody as the continuing conflict in the North African nation of Libya.

No doubt spurred on by there neighbours the uprisings against Gudhafi began on the 11th of February 2011. Gudhafi responded with armed violence to these protests and made it known he had no intention of leaving power. Rebels moved eastward to the coastal city of Benghazi from where they were able to establish an coalition Government known as the Transitional National Council. In early March Gudhafi's forces began to rally to the East and have since reclaimed the rebel stronghlold of Benghazi and numerous other major cities along this coast. The final remaining stronghold of Misratah is currently undergoing an intense offensive by Gudhafi's troops. The situation is now subject to an international response.
At the beginning of the conflict the UN passed a resolution freezing the assets of Gudhafi and ten of his inner circle. This resolution also referred the crimes of Gudhafi to the International Criminal Court. A further resolution enforced a no-fly zone over Libya. Gudhafi's response was to enforce a ceasefire in the conflict which he failed to adhere to. The French were the first group to actually intervene in the conflict. They sent 19 fighter planes over to Benghazi on the 19th of March. They were joined later that same day by British and American forces. American forces have since ended their involvement in the country and control of the no-fly zone has been handed to NATO.

As of today fighting continues across the state with reports of cluster bombs (which are illegal in a large number of states) being used on civilian targets by Gudhafi forces in Misrata. The humanitarian situation is worsening on the ground in Libya also. By March 3rd 200,000 Libyan rebels had fled across the border to Tunisia and Egypt, countries undergoing their own personal turmoil. While food supplies are not yet at critical level the main issue appears to be the availability of proper medical supplies to cater for the large numbers injured in the conflict . In Misrata however, water has been cut off to the city by Gudhafi's forces and sweage pipes have intentionally been re-routed into water supplies.

This conflict shows no sign of an imminent end however, it is difficult to see who long the rebel forces will be able to hold out for, even with the majority backing of international forces. The total death toll has not yet been released but it is estimated somewhere between 2000 and 8000 by various sources. We are unlikely to ascertain a clear picture of the full total any time soon owing to the clamdown on the media by the Gudhafi regime. It is clear however, for all concerned that an end o this gruelling civil war cannot come quickly enough.

Japanese Disaster- The Aftermath

2011-04-19T00:05:00.001+01:00

For the return of Junction News I have chosen a story very close to my heart. I have written a number of stories about Japan on Junction News from the light hearted (Sumo Association) to the downright bizarre (Tokyo's Oldest Man) however, the world was collectively forced to look eastwards in March to witness the land of the rising sun sufferring its worst disaster since World War 2.

Of course as a self-confessed Japanophile and student of the Japanese language tit is strange not to feel some sort of affinity with the Japanese people, even if I have never yet made the journey to Nihon and a great sadness at the complete levelling which ccurred at some of the Northern towns. One of the most shocking pieces of footage filmed throughout the disaster was this one linked below taken at an airport in Sendai.

Indeed more so than many massive natural disasters there seems to be an enormous number of images and videos captured showing the utter devastation it has caused. For me this is one of the most interesting developments of the disaster form a media perspective. If a disaster is counted in ters of number of lives lost this disaster ranks far far lower than the Haitian Earthquake however, the scale of coverage, certainly on 24 news stations ranks considerably lower in my opinion. Could this perhaps be due to the wealth disparity between nations, or the wealth of technology and ease of access to such a great world power? Personally I think the answer is a simple yes.

While the death toll currently stands at just over 13,000 the final figure is expected to climb closer to 25,000. However, it is clear now that the world's focus has turned to Fukushima and the nuclear power plant that is currently in untold distress. And that is what is so troubling. The Japanese Government is notorious for withholding information, a fact which I became privy to when researching the shockings story of the HIV tainted blood scandal. The latest news emerging from the Government says that it will take a further six to nine months until the nuclear reactors will all be fully shut down and buried. This, the Japanese Governement states will give it the necessary time to decontaminate the "largest possible area" in order to facilitate the return of the residents evacuated due to safety concerns.

Most of central and Southern Japan and indeed Hokkaido in the extreme North has returned to normal, however, as with any such nuclear disaster this is a story that will be spoken about for years with various reports coming out of Fukushima detailing the possible effects of the leaked nuclear matter, while others will downplay such effects. It is clear the truth of the matter won't manifest itself for many years to come.

If you wish to donate to the appeal : Japanese Red Cross

Election Time

2011-02-26T17:18:00.000Z

As an ardent follower of politics, whether Irish or international I have been following the current general election in my country with significant interest. Billed as the most important election since the foundation of this state it is hard to argue with the analysts predictions that this is going to mark a monumental change in the face of Irish politics.

As I sit writing this only 7 of the 165 seats up for grabs in the parliament have been filled. Since the foundation of the Irish state the largest party in the country has been the centrist Fianna Fáil party with the largest opposition being Finne Gael who have experienced terms of Government in coalition with the State's third largest Labour Party. However, owing to Ireland's well publicised Economic Meltdown Fianna Fáil has seen its share of the vote decimated with a projected seat count of just 17, less than a third of the 70 they had in the last Dáil (Parliament). This meltdown in the party's seat count has lead to a surge in support for almost every other party out there.

The future leaser of Ireland-Enda Kenny

The Finne Gael Party a right wing, low tax, low spending party is certain to lead the next Government. In all likelihood they will be sharing power again with the Irish Labour Party a left wing Social Democratic Party. While this is nothing that hasn't been done before it would have been unthinkable just 1 year ago to believe that the Fianna Fáil party would become the third largest party in the State. Indeed one of the major stories will now be if their vote may be overtaken by the extreme left wing Sinn Féin party, famous for alleged ties to the Republican IRA movement. Their seat count has been expected to triple to 15, buoyed by support from disaffected unemployed youths.

On the ground in Ireland the mood of the Irish electorate has been one of anger. The turnout has been extremely high in some areas, over 80% with people registering their upset at the outgoing Fianna Fáil and Green Party administration. Indeed it would appear the Green Party may in fact face a total wipe out from the houses of Parliament with a projection of just one single seat. Socialist independents and the newly formed United Left Alliance are all expected to do well.

As I have often cribbed (Irish politics in mildly Interesting Shocker), Irish politics can seem to be summed up by an old Irish saying , 6 of one or half a dozen of the other, however owing to the dire state of our economy the people have been motivated for change in a way that has never happened before. While the face of the next Government may not be something instantly recognisable as new, the seeds of real lasting reform are there, it remains to be seen in elections to come if they manage to grow.

Weekend Randomness: A Little Sexism for the Weekend - Man Flu

2011-01-22T18:54:00.000Z

This is easily one of my favourite weekend randomness posts. In South Korea scientists investigating the man-flu phenomenon have made a startling discovery, it may in fact be real.

The scientists analysed over 1,200 manual workers in 40 companies in Incheon, South Korea. The found that men in more demanding jobs were 74% more likely to report having a cold or flu symptoms than those under less pressure. There was at 42% heightened risk of illness in men with insufficient control over their jobs and 40% among those who lacked adeqate "social suport".

The study should that work related illness was by and large a problem reserved only for the male population. Women were said to be generally less susceptible to work related pressures and are more "stoic" in their approach to such matters according to the scientists who carried out the research. I can't help maintaining an aura of skepticism around this research. What do you guys think?

Drowning Globe

2011-01-18T22:42:00.001Z


Brisbane, Australia

The news wires were full of reports over the last two weeks of horrendous flooding across Sri Lanka, Brazil and Australia. All three nations have suffered greatly at the hands of our increasingly tumultuous weather conditions.

The Australian treasurer has stated the the floods in his country will be the biggest National Disaster in the State's history, in economic terms. The waters inundated the country's third largest city Brisbane and 45 other townships across four states have been effected. So far the death toll has reached 22, however, this has expected to rise in heavily battered Queensland. The floods are expected to cut 1% off of the rate of economic growth equal to $6bn according to the central bank. The Greens, the smaller partner in Julia Gillard's minority Government have agreed somewht controversially that it should be the oil companies who should pay for the costs, as they have been blamed for causing the global warming which the Australian Government states has directly caused the floods.


Brazil

Flooding in Brazil has also been extremely severe with a months rain fall falling in just one day last Tuesday. At least 500 people have died already and 13,500 have been left homeless in what has become one of the country's worst national disasters. Most of those displaced however, have been victims of poverty. A lack of appropriate council housing in the country means that many are forced to build poor quality housing in any place they can find. This is usually in vulnerable places which are more susceptible to flooding. While mudslides of this sort are common in Brazil during the rainy season, the scale of this disaster is somewhat unprecedented and presents a considerable challenge to the country's new President Dilm Rouseff two weeks after taking office.

Flood waters in Sri Lanka have reached up to one metre in some places as Monsoon Rains have forced over one million people from their homes. The death toll from the flooding stands at 18. The water has damaged 160,000 hectares of paddy fields and this will have a catastrophic effect on the economy of the nation. The rains have also lead to considerable mudslides in Sri Lanka which have cut off towns and damaged livelihoods. In schools temples and churches 500 temporary camps have been set up to provide relief for the those affected.


Sri Lanka

So what can we point to as the root cause for all of this climatic turmoil? The answer may lie in the La Nina phenomenon, at least in the case of Australia. La Nina is the name given to the cooling of the waters off of the coast of Peru and Ecuador which has allowed for a warming of the waters off of the east coast of Australia. Warmer waters contain more potential for extreme rainfall. Indeed the La Nina phenomenon tends to last for a bout a year. Australia has been experiencing heavy rainfall since November. There is suggestions that the stronger easterly Pacific trade winds have been made stronger by the La Nina effect and their interaction with the northeasterly monsoon winds have aided convective storms in Sri Lanka. However, more research is required to prove this is in fact the case. As for Brazil the jury is still out.

Perhaps it is often too easy for people to blame irregular storms on global warming or perhaps there is no other worthwhile explanation, feel free to leave your comments below.

Turmoil in Tunisia

2011-01-17T16:07:00.000Z

One of the the biggest stories of the week is the ongoing turmoil in Tunisia where anarchy and rioting lead to the ousting of President Ben Ali who has fleed the country and is now taking refuge in Saudi Arabia. Close aids including the man in charge of his security are now being detained accused of formenting violence.

The constitutional authority has declared a presidential election must be held within sixty days. In the interim the speaker of the parliament has now be sworn in as president. However the presidency had been originally claimed by the Prime Minister which has created a degree of uncertainty in the country. Indeed the very success of the popular uprising is somewhat under threat as the military moves swiftly in order to try the stem the violence analysts are wondering if a coup is possible. A fire brock out at a jail over the weekend klling 42 inmates while at another facility a mass jail break of over 1,000 people occured.
So what spurred the Tunisian people into action. A combination of systemic corruption, a ban on any criticism of the regime, soaring unemployment and poor unemployment. However,the final straw for the Tunisian people came when an unemployed college graduate in Tunis has his fruit cart confiscated, his only source of income. He then set himself on fire. There are now fears among Governments across Africa that such violent uprisings may spread. Already three people in Algeria have been seen setting themselves on fire, a similar case occurred in Mauritania.

Protests are continuing today with 2,000 people packing themselves into central Tunisia where police opened fire with tear gas. There were however, reports of many peaceful protests across the country. The opposition powers are expected to announce a new government today. The Prime Minnister stated Sunday, "Tommorrow we will announce the new Government which will open a new page in the history of Tunisia". Whether or not the new Government is capable of bringing about the necessary reforms remains to be seen.

Weekend Randomness: The Bullet Sneezing Man

2011-01-15T22:54:00.000Z

This weekends bizarre and wonderful nugget of random information comes courtesy of Darco Sangermano a 28 year old labourer from Italy. While in partying in Naples with his girlfriend on New Years Eve, Mr Sangermano was struck with a stray bullet which entered into his temple. I know what you are thinking, this doesn't sound like the typical fluffy weekend randomness fodder. Read on.

Darco was rushed immediately to hospital while amazingly still conscious. There, he sneezed out the .22 calibre bullet and told doctors that apart from a considerable pain in his head he felt perfectly fine. The city of Naples is often noted for its lively New Years celebrations and the tradition of firing live ammunition. Tragically three other people were struck with bullets, one of whom has since died.

Mr Sangermano was discharged from hospital soon after being admitted, after a quick check -up. However, the doctor recommended surgery in his home-town of Turin which was subsequently carried out. The surgery's aim was the removal of bone fragments in his nasal cavity. Doctor's expect him to make a full recovery.

Ireland's Economic Meltdown

2011-01-14T16:46:00.000Z

While I was away from the site the major story making the headlines here in Ireland was the effective implosion of the Irish economy. For those of you who weren't following the story Ireland became the first country to enter recession in the Eurozone in September 2008 and it is suspected to be the last to come out of it.

The crisis came about as a mixture of a number of factors. The housing market in Ireland was big business for a number of years, with prices rising rapidly and the construction sector employing an eight of the entire population. Owing to the global economic slowdown of late 2008 the property bubble in Ireland burst and by the middle of 2010 house prices had plummeted 35% compared with the second quarter of 2007. Therefore the construction sector was also mortally wounded creating waves of unemployment and mass emigration. The pressure greater unemployment put on Government funds added to the national debt already soaring.

The cost of doing business in Ireland has also caused a huge reduction in multi-national investment in the country particularly in Dublin where land prices were by far the highest. In order to lower this cost and help first-time buyers the Government began implementing a decentralisation policy in 2004. This however, has failed significantly to meet targets and fit the purpose for which it was enacted.

The Irish Banks were also deeply effected by the global downturn and the overly high evaluation of the Irish property market. They of course were not without blame having readily handed out 100% mortgages in the years preceding the crash and rumours of corruption were widespread, particuarly in the case of Anglo-Irish Bank, Irelands third largest bank which is now state-owned. The company reported a loss of €12.7 billion in March 2007, the largest figure in Irish corporate history. Last September the Government anounced the total cost of bailing out Anglo would be at least 29 billion euro.

On November 20 2010 the Irish Finance Minister stated that Ireland was not in danger of effective bankruptcy and that there was no worry of the need for IMF and EU intervention in providing money to the Irish economy. On November 21st the Taoiseach (Prime-Minister) announced that the irish Government had sought such assistance. In total the Irish economy will receive 85 billion euro, a decision welcomed by EU finance ministers and the European Central Bank.

While any of you who follow global economic trends will probably have a better idea of Ireland's economic solvency than I do perhaps something I can provide insight into is how this dreadful meltdown has effected the nation on a more human level. Indeed reactions to the crisis have been exceptionally varied.

From many individuals within the Church who have seen a steady decline in influence over the population in recent years, the crisis, while certainly not welcomed has been viewed as a time in which we can reflect on the excesses and greed we are said to have indulged in during the Celtic Tiger years. This reaction has been criticised from other impoverished groups in the nation claiming it ignores the reality of the stuggle of many ordinary citizens.

A devastating side effect of the crisis for many Irish families has been the exodus of the country by thousands of young people in figures which haven't been seen in the country since the last great economic recession in Ireland in the 1980s. Indeed Ireland has constantly suffered from a brain drain of its young workforce in its brief history. The problem was documented in an insigthful documentary by the national broadcaster last week titled Departure Days (viewing only available to Irish readers).

Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) -Brian Cowen

Another interesting outcome of the crisis is in many ways what could be seen as the political motivation of the Irish people. Ireland, to me has always been a nation of political apathy but this may all be about to change. I speak about this issue more extensively in an earlier post on the Irish political system . The ruling Fianna Fáil party which has been in power for the vast majority of the time since 1932 has seen public support decimated coming third place in opinion polls for the first time in its history. In response to this and revolt from coalition colleagues the Taoiseach has stated there will be a general election early this year. The crisi has led to a surge in protests and demonstrations against the Government from pensioner groups, Trade Unions and students. Their also as is common in these situations, a marked increase in support for the left wing Sinn Féin party, often known for past affiliations with the IRA movement.

For me, one of the most startling revelations to come out of the trouble is that of a realisation of the depth of Irish patriotism. When the IMF bailout was announced a wave of anger swept the nation. The people were anxious as to the role the IMF and EU would play in future economic policy decisions. When it was announced that Britain would be giving us eight billion euro people the length and breadth of the country could be heard and seen in various forms of media decrying the loss of economic sovereigity to our old colonial oppressors. The names of various "heroes" in the struggle for independence were touted as turning in their graves at th actions of the Government.

Despite all of this the country still carries on. Times are indeed tough for a growing number of people and it appears the road to recovery will only end after some considerably harsh budgets are pushed through first. However, personally I have seen many examples of camaradery in the midst of the gloom and I have no doubt that this nation will find its fight, the interesting question is how fast the next Government can get us there.

Haiti: One Year On

2011-01-13T19:14:00.000Z

This time last year I was just beginning this little blogging endeavor and my first post dealt with the tragic earthquake in Haiti and looking behind the disaster to tell you a little bit more about the poorest nation in the Northern hemisphere. You can find it here, Haiti:Behind the Quake.

The devastating quake occurred on the 12th of January 2010, measuring a crippling 7 on the Richter scale. The earthquake left 1.5 million people homeless and 800,000 people, more than half of that number are still living in tents in the capital Port au Prince. The earthquake took the lives of between 95,000 and 220,000 people and the conditions in the tents are making life incredibly tough for those Haitians facing a challenging relief effort.

One of the major issues that has came about since the earthquake is that of cholera, a water-born disease which has claimed the lives of at least 3,750 people according to figures released today by the Haitian Government. The total infected by the disease is 181,000, 101,000 of which have been treated in hospitals. The outbreak, discovered in in mid-October has sparked anti-UN riots with attacks occurring on Nepalese aid-workers accused of bringing the disease into the country. However, the disease is being somewhat brought under control. The disease took 12 lives on January the 7th, the lowest of any day since the outbreak began.

Another tragedy owing to the lack of security in the aftermath of the quake is a marked increase in incidences of rape in Haiti. A report carried on Ireland's TV3 network interviewed one woman who had been gang raped by a group including a police officer. Woman are often susceptible to attacks while at communal water facilities some way away from the main campsites. Indeed rape was only declared a criminal offense in Haiti in the year 2005. The minimum sentence for rape is 10 years however judges lack knowledge of the law with the majority of perpetrators spending just 5 years in jail. Police are even discouraging women from making complaints at the moment in order to limit pressure on the judicial system.

Services marking the anniversary were notably subdued, although very few Haitians went to work and a concert was held in Port au Prince. The moment the earthquake struck went all but unrecognized, perhaps owing to the fact that very few Haitians own a watch and have access to the exact time. The national palace remains in ruins however, there is contention over who should now be occupying it. To make it through the coming years, even perhaps decades the people of Haiti will need strong leadership. The question now is, who shall be the one to provide it?

Tragedy in Tucson: The Debate

2011-01-12T19:22:00.000Z

The people of Tucson, Arizona remain in mourning for those lost in Saturday's attack on congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford's public forum with constituents outside a commercial outlet in the city. The attack left 5 dead, including a federal judge, with Gifford now in a stabilising condition in a nearby University Medical Centre. The 22 year-old gun man named as Jared Loughner will face charges which may result in a sentence as severe as the death penalty.

The coverage now seems to be turning towards motive and the prevention of further attacks of this nature from re-occurring. As a general rule of thumb after tragedies of this nature that force people to do considerable amounts of soul searching numerous figures appear on television (indeed generally with far more expertise than myself) hypothesising as to what could have spurred someone to commit such an atrocity. While I do not profess to be an authority or even have any considerable knowledge of mass killings of this kind I hope you may indulge me in some opinions of my own on this tragic event.

The first remark I will make on the coverage of the shootings is how distanced this case is being viewed as from other similar mass killing cases. For example, at the time of the Virginia Tech Massacre of 2007 comparisons were constantly drawn to other similar shooting sprees in other educational institutions in the US, for example the infamous tragedy in Columbine.

News outlets appear to be treating this case as a purely politically motivated attack. This, to me, is certainly a mistake. Discussions on Sky News (24-hour news network in the UK) and CBS in America that I have been following in the last few days have seemed to be placing the blame squarely on two aspects of American society for the Arizona attack. The first point they raise is that of the harsh political partisan rhetoric coming out of both sides of the political spectrum in the States.

An image that as been central to British/Irish coverage of this issue is that of Sarah Palin's cross-hair targeting of key battle grounds in the recent mid-term elections. Indeed many times while watching speeches by Palin and shockingly harsh rhetoric used by those such as Glenn Beck I have found it overly severe, hate filled and lacking in any sort of civility. I don't mean to highlight solely Republican examples as experts have been quick to point out that such harsh speeches have been visible from all sides of the political sphere. However, to suggest that this had a significant role to play in the attack is in my belief searching for an easy answer and masking rather than treating the real issue here.

The second point raised constantly in reports is in my opinion clearly a more credible issue. In Arizona mental health funding has been significantly reduced over the past few years and indeed Arizona has the poorest funded mental health care facilities in the US. A report carried last year by CBS News showed that there are measures in place allowing even those suspected of being severely ill to be committed without proof. This is a controversial measure but greater awareness about mental health facilities could surely help in the fight against such behaviour in the future.

However, I find it hard not to ask the same question as someone working for Irish national broadcaster RTE on Monday. It seems absurd to me and anyone I have discussed this issue with on this side of the Atlantic that a discussion on how to prevent similar violence would take place without a mention of gun control. Coming, as I do from a nation in which not even the police are allowed to carry arms I find it shocking that the right to bear arms is constitutionally enshrined. In my whole life I can never remember even setting eyes on a gun that wasn't behind a glass case in a museum.

America is a nation noted for its history of violent gun crime. I am dumbfounded how lobby groups still defend the right of Americans to carry weapons. Perhaps it is owing to the debt of patriotism in the country or a sense of insecurity but for the sake of the memories of those gunned down and the thousands of people whom their deaths has effected over the years then it is pivotal in my view that America's sole searching leads it to a population in which gun ownership is not seen as a necessary security or indeed a necessity to honour the memory of the founding fathers but rather a last resort or something which is wholly wrongful in a society which prides itself on civility or liberty and justice for all.

Sudanese Schism?

2011-01-12T02:52:00.002Z

This week has the potential to be a historic one in the history of Africa's largest nation, Sudan. The people of Southern Sudan are voting in a week long referendum on whether they should separate from the North, forming the continent's 54th sovereign nation, and what would undoubtedly become the UN's latest inductee since Timor-Leste in 2002.

The week of voting began on Sunday, when large numbers of voters were turned away due to enormous crowds at polling stations, particularly in the southern capital of Juba. The poll requires a turn-out of 60% in order to be valid, a figure which authorities expect will easily be reached. The result of the vote will be confirmed by the 15th of February, however preliminary results are expected by Friday. If the Southern Sudanese vote for independence then the process is expected to be completed by July.

The dye was cast for the referendum in the 2005 peace agreement between North and South Sudan ending a decades-old and tragic civil war between the predominantly Arab and Muslim North, and the black Christian and Animist South. The conflict lasted across 4 decades and two separate civil wars stretching from 1963 to 1972 and from 1983 to 2005. While the battle for independence may end in July the war may not be so quickly won.

There remains a number of issues to be discussed in secession talks, pending the expected independence vote. Sudan still has a cripplingly high national debt which plays a role in sustaining its poor economic situation. Carving up this debt will be difficult in lieu of its cancellation.

20% of the border between the two nations also remains bitterly contested. Their are considerably economic concerns in its division as the Southern territories contain rich oil reserves and the North is conscious of the implications of relinquishing control of these precious natural resources. A key battle ground in the oil struggle is the disputed territory of Abyei which will vote this year on whether it will join with the South in the possible formation of a new State. However, many in the South are convinced that the election will be used as a tool by the North in order to take some degree of control over the specially demarcated autonomous region.

Indeed there have already been attacks on those registered to vote in the elections in the North by Northern militants. Today 12 people were killed in the violence. It is clear that for the 4 million people (diaspora included) registered to vote in the referendum that independence is a huge step forward but not the end of the conflict desperately hoped for in one of Africa's most troubled nations.

Apologies

2010-09-19T16:13:00.000+01:00

I deeply apologise to any of you who have been waiting for any site updates over the past couple of weeks. I have recently moved back to University and the first couple of weeks have been exceptionally hectic. I promise to try really hard to get back into a steady update routine. Talk to you guys soon.

Terrorism Continues in Northern Ireland

2010-09-06T18:01:00.000+01:00

People North and South of the Border in Ireland were shocked today when an 8 year old boy found a pipe bomb lying in the playground when he arrived into school early this morning. The boy from Co- Antrim in the North East arrived first into the school to deliver milk to the classrooms before the other students arrived.

The boy then brought the bomb into the school for a time with him before then alerting a teacher of the alarming discovery. The 400 students in the school were then evacuated to a nearby Church Hall before later being sent home. The bomb was declared viable by experts and is undergoing further forensic examinations.

Another bomb scare was reported at a school in the locality this morning, however, it later turned out to have been a hoax. This school also included a nursery section. Councillors and lobby groups have condemned the attacks, particularly their locations and timing. The attacks happened just a week into the new school term and have frightened many students who are attending for the first time and startlled others.

While these attacks can only be condemned, no matter who the culprit is it is fair to say that attacks North of the border in Ireland have quitened significantly since the links between the IRA and republican group Sinn Fein have become apparently weaker (at least in public) and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1999. In three decades of sectarian conflict between a largely Catholic republican movement and a largely Protestant Unionist movement over 3,000 were killed. A power-sharing agreement between parties representing both groups is now in place.

Weekend Randomness: Montana Teen Tries to Buy Drugs off of a Police Officer

2010-09-04T13:46:00.001+01:00

This story is an amusing little gem which came out of the Associated Press News Agency today dealing with the case of a teen from the Montanan capital of Helena in the central Northern United States.

The male teen thought he was sending the following message to his drug dealer to get some pot "Hey Dawg, do you have a $20 I could buy right now?" Unfortunately, the young man actually sent the message to the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton.

Dutton originally thought it was a joke but quickly learned it was a real request for drugs. He got a detective to organise a meeting with the young man on Wednesday. He called three times to ensure it was the same guy. The boy was with another young man and an adult. When he flashed the group his badge one of the boys even fainted. The police decided not to pursue charges saying anything the police could do wouldn't be as bad as what their parents would do.

The story got me thinking about the related topic of sending a text to the person the text is about. I'll let a local Irish comedian communicate to you what I mean through the medium of song. It does include some swearing.

So I wanted to ask you guys if you have ever had an embarrassing experience usually communicating with someone via text or otherwise? Leave a comment below and I'll get back to you.

Rioting in Mozambique

2010-09-03T12:10:00.000+01:00

At least one person has died following a second day of rioting in the Mozambican capital of Maputo. At least 37 more are injured after the police fired live rounds into the crowds in order to try to disperse demonstrators.

Mozambicans are protesting a recent rise in the price of bread, fuel and other staple goods.The reason for the price hike is due to the appreciation of of the South African Rand against the Mozambican currency.According to reports the Government is already subsidising food, gas and other goods. Jose Pacheo, Minister for the Interior has called for calm and urged parents to control their teenagers.

It seems the protesters aren't out in as large a number today as they were yesterday. Police had fired warning shoots into the air yesterday to try to disperse protesters, however, they did shoot into the crowds at periods when they were under pressure. State media reported the use of tear gas and rubber bullets. However, demonstrators stated that live rounds were used.

Police have also been seen chasing teenagers who set car tires on fire and engaged in other disruptive acts. In total 32 shops were vandalized and at least 6 cars were vandalized or burnt out. As well as this the offices of telephone and electrical offices were raided and the warehouses of food companies were looted.

Reports from the main news agency in the nation stated that credible sources were reporting as many as ten deaths from the riots. 142 people were arrested and officials stated that the casualty totals were likely to rise. The President has also addressed the nation appealing for calm but offering no economic solution to the problem.

Earl Closes in on the East Coast

2010-09-02T18:21:00.000+01:00

Every hurricane season the media latches on to the prospect of another storm reaking catastrophic damage to the people of the Carribean and the US. This year it is the turn of hurricane Earl to get it moment in the spotlight, and it couldnt have come at a worse time, on the Eve of the Labour Day weekend in the US that would usually draw scores of Americans to the beach one last time before the Summer bids farewell.

The strength of the hurricane had been moved to a category four storm before being downgraded. However, as of 3A.M this morning it had again been upgraded with winds as strong as 135 miles per hour. The Hurricane has also been generating waves as high as 50 feet and is certainy the strongest of the 2010 Hurricane season.

Earl has already battered numerous islands in the Carribean already causing between 100 and 150 million dollars in damages. It has now caused the evacuation of thousands on what are known as the barrier islands on the North Carolina Coast. Authorities fear that if all residents are not evacuated in time the impending storm may make the route to the mainland impassable.

President Obama has declared a disaster situation in the state and ordering federal aid to support a relief effort. A shift to either the East or West could spell significant damage either on the US east Coast or other islands offshore. Experts are most concerned for the island of Haiti rocked by an Earthquake earlier in the year. Many people are still displaced and the damage that could be done by Earl would be ruin months of disaster relief efforts in the still struggling Carribean nation.

Tropical storm Fiona is hot on the heels of Earl however, experts are predicting it will fizzle out in the next few days.

Breaking Hostage Situation in Maryland

2010-09-01T19:55:00.000+01:00

Reports are surfacing tonight of a potential hostage situation in the American State of Maryland. An armed man said to be of Asian descent has stormed the headquarters of the Discovery channel in a commuter belt town, Silversprings, near to the capital Washington D.C.

The building also houses a number of other companies such as architectural practices. The man is said to not only be carrying firearms but also has explosives strapped to his person. He has demanded a meeting with top officials at the corporation. It is clear he has some grievance with the group.
Employees at some of the upper floors have been told to lock themselves into their offices.The man is also said to have taken at least one hostage. There has also been unconfirmed reports of a gun shot heard inside the building. A day care centre also housed in the building has been evacuated. Authorities are in contact with the individual in question.

UN Report Announces Acts of Genocide in Democratic Republic of Congo

2010-08-31T15:33:00.001+01:00

If you missed my post earlier in the week detailing the absolutely horrendous humanitarian disaster in the Eastern half of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) catch up here, Hell in Congo. Today's post deals with the recent leak of a UN report which states that in the 1990's during the period known as the African World War Congolese and Rwandan rebels committed what could be classified genocide.

In 1994, after the quashing of the Rwandan Genocide of 800,000 Tutsi's remaining forces were then moved West into the Congo then known as Zaire, where they went to hunt down Hutu forces who had fled into the notion after the genocide .Rwandan Tutsi forces then kept the Congolese ADFL rebels in power led by Laurent Kabila. Bothe groups have been accused of shocking human rights abuses in the nations.

Kigali (the Rwandan capital) has threatened to withdraw peacekeeping troops in Sudan over the allegations according to France's Le Monde newspaper. However, it is not simply Rwanda that is targeted in the draft report. 600 serious offences are detailed, carried out by a number of nations although its neighbour to the West is clearly responsible for a number of atrocities.

There is a debate whether the allegations of genocide should be included in the final report as there are fears among Congolese and Rwandan diplomats that such a move would unsettle the regime of Paul Kagame who has only recently himself been re-elected and faced unprecedented backlash with the Tutsi elite. Whatever the ruling of the UN I hope that in some way the Congolese people are given the retribution they deserve for decades of the most brutal hardship and oppression.

Shootings in Slovakia

2010-08-30T20:06:00.000+01:00

The Slovakian capital of Bratislava was rocked today when a gunman killed at least 7 people and injured a further 15. He then as often happens in these situations turned the gun on himself. He has yet to be identified by the police however, police have said he was in his 50's.

The shooting took place in a run-down neighbourhood, the Devinska Nova Ves. He shot dead 6 members of the same family, 4 women and 2 men. The other victim was a women who had heard the commotion and stepped onto her balcony. A young toddler was among the injured and a police officer was shot in the head, but not killed. One of the injured is critical, 3 more are in a serious condition.

The gunman was carrying and illegally obtained shotgun and two pistols. He came out of a building and ran down the street firing indiscriminately. He continued for only a few metres before a team of police cornered him. He began shooting at the ground and at police before he gave up and turned the gun on himself.

People are speculating about a possibly racist motive to the attacks as the 6 members of the family who were murdered were of Roma origin. There are 430,000 Romany people in Slovakia, a nation of 5.4 million people. There are often disputes between the two groups but no incidences of mass murders have been seen as yet.

The Volcano that Slept for 400 years

2010-08-29T19:28:00.000+01:00

A volcano of the Indonesian island of Sumatra erupted today for the first time in 400 years. The eruption of the volcano known as the Sinabung volcano caused the evacuation of more than 19,000 residents as the authorities sounded the siren for a red alert.

The volcano has been showing signs of activity since Friday and it was at just about midnight that people first reported seeing a red glow at the crater and smoke rising high into the sky. They then reported hearing a large noise that sounded like an aircraft overhead. It turned out that this was in fact coming from the volcano.

The Sinabung volcano rises over 2,400 metres and shot its molten materials as high as 1500 metres into the air. All residents within a six kilometer danger zone around the volcano have been evacuated. The island's largest city Medan is 60 km North-East of the volcano. The Indonesian archipelago lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire and has an astonishing 129 active volcanoes at a mininmum.

Officials in Sumatra have stated the red alert will remain in place for at least a week as volcanologists monitor the situation. Authorities are now sending smoke masks and respiratory medicines to cope with the number of people effected by inhaling the volcanic materials. At least one person is known to have died from such complaints so far.

Weekend Randomness: The Japanese Sumo Association

2010-08-29T03:14:00.000+01:00

The Japanese Sumo Association or JSA made the news this week for taking a step out of character and investing in the latest form of technology for its plus-size members, apple's IPad.

The decision was taken after members complained of the difficulty of sending texts and e-mails using the small keys on a standard mobile phone. Owing to the larger size of the IPad the touchscreen has larger keys which are more navigable by their larger digits. The JSA claimed having one of these in every stable would allow them to keep in contact with their members more easily. They had been using faxes and phones to contact their memories in the past.

The story made me want to learn more about this Association. And me research led me to some fascinating discoveries. The powers of the JSA appear to know very few bounds. For example, owing to a serious car accident involving one of the wrestlers all sumo wrestlers are now banned from driving their own cars. Sumo wrestlers are also required to wear their hair in the traditional style called chonmage which hearkens back to the days of the samurai in the Edo period. They must also wear traditional Japanese clothes which make them clearly identifiable in public. Punishment for breaking these rules include fining and suspension.

The wrestlers live in what as known as a stable and have specific schedules enforced according to rank. The most junior wrestlers get up the earliest at 5 a.m. in order to train before the more senior sekitori rise at 7a.m. Rikishi are also not allowed to eat breakfast generally. They have a large lunch then a siesta in order to facilitate weight gain. While the sekitori are training the rekishi do chores and often act as servants to their senior counterparts. Rekishi live in communal dormitories while a sekitori gets his own room or may even have his own house, which married wrestlers often do.

Indeed the controversial treatment of young rekishi has dogged the sport in recent years. In late 2007 a 17 year old rekishi was killed after being hit in the head with a beer bottle by his stable master and subsequently being beaten by fellow wrestlers on the command of the same. The practice of beating young wrestlers to keep them in line is widespread however, after the incident the then Prime Minister demanded the JSA ensure such an event never happens again.

This year's tournament also had an unprecedented 18 wrestlers banned because of their participation in betting on baseball games in a gambling ring run by the yakuza (or Japanese mafia). Also 50 premium seats were purchased by yakuza gang members this year for matches airing on national television. they claim it was to cheer up an incarcerated boss. Others aren't so sure.The sport has also been dogged by allegations of match fixing and substance abuse. The sport has been losing fans in droves in recent years due to the scandals and the recession. While there has always been ties between the yakuza and the JSA it appears that the sport has increasingly turned towards the underworld to ensure its financial security.

Hell in Congo

2010-08-27T16:37:00.001+01:00

There are few places on earth that have more ravaged by war in recent years than the Democratic Republic of Congo. This massive African nation is the continents third largest and the 12 th largest in the world. There is also 71 million people in the nation and the average per capita GDP is the second lowest in the world.

The country was a Belgian colony for a time up until its independence on the 30th of June 1960. While the country suffered deeply at the hands of the oppressive Joesph- Désiré Mubutu it was not until 1996 that one of the most viscous and horrifying Wars this world has ever seen broke out. Involving 7 foreign armies and with a death toll from the conflict standing at 4.5 million it has often been dubbed the African World War. Indeed no war has taken so many lives since World War 2.

While the War was said to have ended in 2003 following the signing of peace accords conflict persists in the Eastern region of the country where rebel militias which took part in the Rwandan conflicts lie in wait. It is a sore point between the two nations with the Rwandans claiming the Congolese haven't done enough to disarm the rebels. In recent months, owing to a drive to eradicate the forces from the country, the Congolese army has launched a major offensive against the rebel groups. Besides the devastation the fighting wreaks on the land and the lives of the civilian populations in these areas the level of sexual violence used to quell dissenters in the nation is horrific.

Last year in the DRK 9,000 people were raped. That is of course only the reported figure. More than this rapes are generally carried out by groups of 2 to 6 men and the majority take place in front of family members. Indeed numerous sources can be cited saying rape has become a cultural phenomenon in the nation and not only is it committed by the rebel forces but is often tool used by the Congolese national army. Few people are ever convicted of committing the crimes.

The country has made the news recently due to the efforts or lack thereof to prevent the rapes of more the 150 women over a period lasting 4 days. There are currently over 20,000 UN peace keeping troops in the nation, its largest operation anywhere in the world. However, the Congolese Government forces have asked them to be out of the country by 2011, something the UN has been a bit apprehensive about agreeing to. Both groups have face controversy over their lack of any response to the incident, although the UN has said they were uninformed of the incident until a week after it took place. Ban Ki Moon has rushed a senior representative to the area to talk to the victims, however I'm sure it will offer little comfort to those who have and continue to experience the worst effects of conflict in a nation that can quite aptly be described as hell on earth.

Dead Immigrants found in Mexico

2010-08-26T19:31:00.000+01:00

Police in Mexico are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 72 presumed immigrants discovered at a ranch in the North East of the country. The nationalities of the deceased have yet to be released. However police are co-operating with diplomats from Hondouras, Brazil, Ecuador and El Salvador in the hope of identifying the nationalities of the deceased.

The Mexican President used the unfortunate event to proclaim his victories in the war on his nations drug cartels. He stated the drug gangs are increasingly resorting to extortion and kidnapping migrants as "a result of the activity of the state against them, which has significantly weakened the operational capacity of criminal groups."

While the group claimed 58 men and 14 women it was the Mexican navy who were alerted to the scene by an Ecuadorian man who made it to the military base after being shot by a member of the gang in the neck. The navy was not authorised to speak on record but an unnamed officer stated that the police approached the gang and a gunfight ensued. 1 naval officer was killed as were three gang members.

At the scene the authorities said they found 21 rifles, camouflage uniforms, bulletproof vests and four trucks. Also one of the trucks belonged to the group had been redesigned to resemble a truck from the Ministry of Defense.

More than 28,000 people have died in drug related violence in Mexico since December 2006 when the President intensified his war on organised crime. But as the President has said the war on drugs has had consequences on the immigrant populations. Last month in the State of Nuevo Leon 151 bodies were discovered in nine mass graves. And similar horrifying discoveries have been made in Quintana Roo and Guerro. All of these shocking events have been linked to the drug war.

First-Cousin Marriage and the Case of the British Pakistanis

2010-08-24T17:27:00.000+01:00

A fascinating documentary on Britain's Channel 4 last night (available on 4OD for British and Irish residents) shed light on the common practice of first cousin marriage in the British Pakistani population. The reporter Tazeen Ahmed documents her family's story on the Channel 4 website also. Her grand-parents were first cousins. Four of her uncles were deaf and her mother was the only daughter of 6 to survive past being a toddler.

Despite making up just 1.5% of the population a third of all children born with rare genetic conditions are ethnic Pakistanis. A half of all Pakistani's in Britain marry their first cousins. A child born to first cousin parents is ten times more likely to be born with recessive genetic disorders including deafness, blindness and child mortality. Cultures in Bangladesh, West Africa and the Middle East also partake in the practice but generally to a much lesser extent.
When her grand-parents married the extent of scientific research on the subject of first cousin marriage was quite limited and thus it wasn't until much later that Today however, there are currently 70 studies in the UK alone proclaiming the problems that arise as a result of first cousin marriage.

However, in the program Ms Ahmed meets with numerous people who proclaim the benefits of the practice saying that it helps maintain close ties between members of a family. Many said their families had been unaffected by the practice or denied its links to first cousin marriage. She met an Imam who simply stated that Shariah law says that there is nothing wrong with the practice and said he couldn't comment on the issue. When he was given the research on the issue he declined to comment.

And why is the opinion of the Imam so important in the battle against the practice? Well Pakistani Britains generally come from strict Muslim backgrounds and feel victimized when politicians speak out against the dangers of first cousin marriages, as if it is another prong in the West's ongoing war on Islam. Thus, politically the issue is ignored for fear of losing votes and traditional Imams see nothing wrong with the practice. This has to change to have any hope of saving children from needless severe disabilities.

Hostage Horror in the Philippines

2010-08-23T18:13:00.001+01:00

Breaking news out of the Philippines as a hostage situation lasting 12 hours has just come to an end. Taking place in the city of Manila on a bus carrying tourists from Hong Kong on a tour of the Filipino capital it appears the hostage taker was angry after losing his job as a law enforcement officer after being accused of being corrupt. He was acquitted of all charges but not being re-instated.

The gunman was named Rolando Mendoza, 55 and boarded the bus in Intramuros a historic walled city. It had been two years since his dismissal from his post as a senior inspector. He placed a sign on the window stating "Big deal will start after 3pm today." Later as the bus pulled into Jose Rizal Park alongside Manila Park he pulled out an M16 automatic rifle and announced he was taking the passengers hostage.
Aboard the bus there were 3 tour guides, a photographer, a bus driver and 20 tourists. In the early hours of the situation 9 people including some children, elderly and a man with diabetes were released.Of the three Filipino's a tour guide and a photographer were released.This left 15 tourists from Hong Kong on the bus.

The Filipino authorities have been heavily criticised for their handling of the situation which saw them try to storm the bus 5 times and on one occasion trying to beat in the windows with a sledgehammer.However, the nation does have internationally trained SWAT teams on hand in the capital. After the escape of the bus driver a round of gun fire was shot. An onlooker, a young man was injured by one of the gun shoots, clearly not sufficiently far away enough from the bus at the time. The bus driver claimed that all of the hostages on the bus had died.

40 minutes after the bus driver's escape the police approached the bus again. This time one of their snipers managed to catch the hostage taker in the head and his body was seen hanging out of a window on the bus. The search was then on for survivors. Three survivors were seen escaping from a window after the incident and a Hong Kong official said 7 of its people were killed in the incident.

Me and Studio Ghibli: The Wrap Up

2010-08-22T21:14:00.000+01:00

Over the past couple of months I've been delving into the works of my favourite international movie house. And now in the final installment of the series I've decided to take a look at the company as a whole, where it is now and where it is headed in the future. But first, as with every story, we start at the beginning, its history.

Studio Ghibli was set up by Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki, a now prolific producer at the Studio. Miyazaki had worked on a few projects with Isao Takahata, including Panda! Go Panda ! and Hols:Prince of the Sun. Its was Suzuki San however, who invited Takahata into the Ghibli stable. The name Ghibli came from Miyazaki's fascination with aviation. Ghibli was the name of a particular type of plane used in WW2. It means hot wind blowing through the Sahara desert. It was the Studio's intention to blow a wind of change into Japanese animation. according to Suzuki San.

In the early days the Studio hired no full time staff. The idea was that if one film was successful then another would be made but if one flopped that was it.

However, while Nausicaa and Laputa were major successes for the company, Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies were a theatrical flop. The Studio blames their release period for the flop. The Studio managed to stay afloat and two years later a rather unexpected event happened , Totoro merchandise began selling, and selling like hotcakes. The merchandise had been released not to promote the film's release which is unusual. The success ensured the company would never struggle financially again. Totoro also became the companies mascot at this time.

With Kiki becoming the highest grossing film in Japan in the year it was released ghibli had to decide how to run what was fast becoming a highly successful business. Full time staff was now hired and a training program for them was introduced. However, with these new innovations the company was faced with severely rising production costs. The studio had anticipated this and with the release of Only yesterday they started to really concern themselves with the advertising of their films in order to increase box office takings and offset production costs.

It also began to have a situation where films were constantly in production. Porco Rosso began production while Only Yesterday was still being produced. This meant that a stage came whereby all staff were put to work on Takahata's film which left Miyazaki totally on his own working on Porco Rosso for a time. He complained and was under stress but instead of focusing all his efforts on the task at hand he managed to somehow find the time to draw up a blueprint for a new studio for the company as well as gathering the materials for it and meeting with the builders to ensure the studio was as near to specified as possible. They had previously been working in a 300 metre-squared rented space. About a year later the studio was completed almost at the same time as Porco Rosso itself.

It was a great year for the company, Porco Rosso beat out "Hook" and Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" to become the highest grossing film of the year in Japan. Their new home was now Koganei a suburb of Tokyo. It now stretches over 1100 metres squared and over 4 floors. Also all animation work is done under one roof, a rarity in Japanese animation today.

In 1993 they made their first made for TV movie "Ocean Waves" which is currently unavailable in North America however, is widely available in Europe. Suzuki San claimed that the film achieved "satisfactory results". However, it is Ghibli's only TV movie.

Ghibli's efforts abroad initially were limited to the Asian region. Forgetting about the adaption of Nausicaa, the first release of a Ghibli film outside the region was Totoro by 20th century fox. It sold 560,000 copies. Pom Poko was even chosen as a best foreign film nominee at the academy awards. Spirited Away is the only non-English language film ever to have won a Best Animated film Oscar.The company also has a distribution deal with Walt Disney Pictures, which has seen them show many of the company's works play to various successes in the US. However, Studio Ghibli has said it will make films primarily for Japanese audiences and never cater for multi-national audiences in its marketing.

The Studio has always said it puts all its resources into its theatrical works, however it has made numerous shorts, TV commercials and even music videos. Most of its shorts are shown in the Ghibli Museum which opened in 2001 and was designed by Miyazaki himself. It is in the style of a hill top village in Italy and Miyazki wanted the Museum itself to be a feature. Inside is a homage to Ghibli, containing a model of the robot in Laputa and a giant catbus in which children can play.

So what lies in the future for Ghibli. Well its latest film The Borrower Arrietty was released in Japan this past July, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, it would appear that with Goro and now Yonebayashi San the Studio is trying to pave the way for new young directors to take over from Takahata and Miyazaki. The studio as has plans to adapt the traditional Japanese folktale of the Bamboo Cutter into a film directed by Takahata who's genius has been sorely missed in the Studio's output of recent years. The Studio is also animating a game Ni no Kuni for the Nintendo DS which given both companies fame in the island nation is bound to be a massive hit.
It is scheduled for release on December 9th this year.

And that wraps up the first feature and longest post of Junction News. Thank you for sticking with me over the past number of weeks. If you have any comments about the feature leave them below. All criticism is welcome. Stay tuned to Junction News for all your news and media from across the globe.

Weekend Randomness: The Case of the Exploding Mobile

2010-08-21T17:47:00.000+01:00

In what has been a decidedly light week for news besides the constant horrific flooding in Pakistan this story could almost have made it into my regular week day posts however, I think it fits perfectly into my weekend randomnes Saturday slot.

Gopal Gujja, a 23 year old Indian man was the victim of a rather tragic, and unfortunate accident, his Nokia mobile phone exploded fatally killing him. While there were no witnesses to the event it is presumed he was talking on the phone at the time of the incident. He sustained fatal damage to his neck, head and shoulders.

The man, a resident of Banda Village, Kota at the time, had left his brother's home to tend to his livestock at noon. His body was discovered that night with remains of the headset scattered in the surrounding area around his body. It was a Nokia 1209 headset, a basic model released in the territory in August 2008. Authorities have stated it is the first known case of death due to exploding mobile on the sub-continent, while it wasn't being charged.

In South Korea in 2007 a similar story was reported of a man found dead with a phone burning stuck to his chest. It later turned out the story was a hoax. What had in actuality happened was that his co-worker had pinned him to a rock while reversing an excavator in the quarry where they both worked. The phone exploding story was made to cover up his co-worker's actions. Nokia has failed to comment on the death of Goppal Gujja.

HIV and the People of Swaziland

2010-08-20T21:38:00.000+01:00

Over the past couple of months I think I have brought you guys news from some fairly remote parts of the world. However, I think their are few places lesser covered in international news the Africa's sole remaining total monarchy of Swaziland. So before I delve into why Swaziland made the news today (keeping in mind we are painfully in the middle of the silly season) I will give you guys a crash course in all things Swazi.

This nation of just over 1.2 million is bordered on the South, North and West by South Africa and to the East, Mozambique. It has two capitals Mbabane (administrative ) and Lobamba (legislative and royal). Most Swazis speak siSwazi although English is spoken as a second language by many people in the country. It was colonised by the British and granted independence in 1968. The head of state is currently Mswati III. He elects a number of representative in both chambers of Parliament and the Prime Minister. Over 90% of Swazis are of some Christian denomination.

Swaziland is however not without its share of problems. At 26%, its HIV rate amongst adults is the worst in the world. In 2002, a total of 61% of all deaths in the country were caused by HIV. Life expectancy in the nation has fallen from 61 years in 2000 to 32 years in 2009. It is now the worst in the world and 6 years lower than the second worst, Angola. 42.6% of pregnant women in Swaziland are currently infected with HIV.

The crisis was first officially recognised by the administration in the country in 2004. It has also been gripped by a TB crisis with a mortality rate of 18%. 83% of TB sufferers are co-infected with HIV. The epidemic of HIV is killing 2% of the population every year. The UN has stated that if the problem continues unabated then it will threaten "the longer term existence of Swaziland as a country."

So against this backdrop of devastation you would presume that the Government and monarchy in Swaziland would be trying to do anything in its power to help control the epidemic. However, the policies of king Mswati leave something to be desired. He practices polygamy, which is legal in Swaziland and also has stated all women under 50 are banned from sex. IN 200 he stated all HIV infected people should be "sterilized or branded". He has also enforced unchwasho for a number of years whereby women over nineteen engaging in sexual relations are fined one animal.

This HIV ignorance is something which appears to be transferring to some of his children. Today one of his sons said the epidemic is being exaggerated by pharmaceutical companies for the benefit of their bank balances. He also attacked the idea of circumcision as a preventative measure against the contraction of AIDS. He said it was no more useful than bathing after intercourse.His draconian stance has been attacked by the group Swaziland for Positive Living citing studies in Uganda and Kenya stating the risk of catching the disease is reduced by 60% in circumcised males.

Set back for anti-Islam Book Burners

2010-08-20T00:49:00.001+01:00

You may have heard the pretty alarming story of Pastor Terry Jones and his Dove World Outreach Church in the American State of Florida. The Church is a fundamentalist Christian organisation with a staunch anti-gay and anti-Islamic philosophy. The Church was founded in 1986 and Jones has been a minister working with the group almost since its inception.

The Church has constantly kept itself in the news through its deeply conservative campaigns and headline grabbing speeches. Last year it began distributing t-shirts with the slogan "Islam is the devil" emblazoned on the back and Biblical scripture on the front. Children of members of the Church were sent to school wearing the t-shirts. One was forced to change his between classes. Another student was sent home along with a further elementary school student. It also erected billboards with a similar slogans.

The group took part in a march along with members of the Westborough Baptist Church in April 2010. The Westborough Baptists are notable for their anti-homosexual stance and their choice of protesting outside the grounds of the funerals of fallen American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. A member of the Dove World group then published a blog post of his websote stating the groups full support for the Church's anti-homosexual message.

This anti-gay stance was seen again at the mayoral elections in Gainsville this month, where the group erected signs saying 'No Homo-Mayor' as openly gay candidate Craig Lowe stood. He was later elected and labeled the group an embarrassment to the community.

However, it is their current controversial and dangerous proposition that is garnering significant media attention. The group plans to hold a mass Koran burning on the 11th of September, the ninth anniversary of the attacks on the pentagon and world trade centre. Christian and Muslim groups alike have spoken out against the plans saying they will only lead to a greater rift between the two faiths.

Today the interim chief of Gainseville Fire Rescue refused to grant the group a licence for the planned burning as public book burnings are banned in the city. However, the group which has less than 100 members has stated it will pursue the book burning idea. If it does, it will be sanctioned with fines.

Australia and the Commonwealth of Nations

2010-08-18T21:05:00.000+01:00

Current Australian PM Julia Gillard has stated that it is her belief that the time for Australia to leave the Commonwealth of Nations. While Ms Gillard has always had these beliefs it is the first time she has chosen to express them on the campaign trail. With a knife edge general election in the nation just days away it raises the contentious issue of Australian republicanism for the first time.

Gillards centre-left Labor Party has advocated a republic for a long time however the opposition National/Liberal Coalition chief Tony Abott is a staunch pro-monarchist who doesn't believe there will be any significant change in the country's political make-up in his life-time. Indeed the Australian people have refused the chance to establish a monarchy in 1999 in a national referendum. The issue remains a divisive one.

The Commonwealth of Nations formerly known as the British Commonwealth includes 54 nations in total. It is not a political union but a forum in which diverse nations come together to meet and share in their mutual cultures and ideologies. It is a non-political organization and the powerless figurehead of the group is Queen Elizabeth the II the reigning Queen of the Britain.

Almost all of the nations in the Commonwealth are former colonies of Britain. Although some former colonies are not in it, for example Ireland. The Queen of England, however, reigns as official head of state for only a small amount of those nations. These include most notably Canada and Australia.

Ms Gillard, who was born in Wales, states that is it was to happen that Australia did leave the Commonwealth it wouldn't be until a change in monarchy in the UK. She also states that she wishes Queen Elizabeth a long and full life. If Australia was to stop being a commonwealth realm it would be the first to do so since Fiji in 1987 via a military coup.

Silly Season Around the World

2010-08-17T19:02:00.000+01:00

Every Summer on this side of the Atlantic the main houses of Parliament take extended holidays and the press endures what is known as silly season. This period is particularly rough from mid-August to September in Britain where newspaper readership drops off and events like Prime Ministers Question of course cannot take place. To counteract this trend often newspapers print attention grabbing headlines and are forced to dramatize relatively insignificant events on the world stage in order to try to grab readers.

However, the British Isles are not the only nations to suffer from this period of informative drought, although the times and dates may change the premise is the same. In Germany he period is known as Sommerloch (Summer hole) and in French it is la morte-saison (the dead season). The Swedish have the nyhetstorka.

For some reason many nations prefer to refer to the period as the cucumber season or cucumber time. The Czechs, Hungarians, Estonians, Israelis and Polish all use this expression. In the US the term is often used to refer to the period between seasons in major sports like American football.

While broadsheet newspapers struggle to find serious news to grace the front pages, the tabloids who may often be prone to sensational headlines, celebrity gossip and shock tactics seem to have an easier time of it. Britain's most read newspaper, a tabloid, The Sun has run some quite fascinating headlines in the past. On its front page a few years ago it ran a story that the face of a popular television personality had been spotted in the stars. While the resemblance was uncanny, did it really deserve the front page of a national newspaper? I'll leave that one up to you.

Another consequence of the silly season is the political leverage it affords politicians to get their name out there. Germany's current king of Sommerloch as christened by Stern Magazine is the economic minister from the junior coalition partner in Angela Merkel's Government Rainer Bruederle. He has been featured all over German media in almost daily media interviews arguing on issues such as pensions, immigration reform and criticising Merkel's party for not having enough enthusiasm for reforms. He has confused many pensioners with his hypocritical policies and no doubt angered those within Merkel's Christian democrats.

While the long term effects of the Silly Season have yet to be seen. Here's hoping that the period fizzles out in a couple of weeks like one of its shallow forgettable (albeit amusing) stories.

China Under Water

2010-08-16T23:36:00.000+01:00

Running concurrent to the unprecedented disaster in Pakistan was the extraordinarily devastating mudslides in mainland China. The nation has took part in a day of mourning yesterday, the whole country observing 3 minutes of silence. At 10 AM the Chinese Premier Wen Jibao paid silent tribute to the fallen ahead of a party meeting.

All across the country concerts were cancelled. Also, cinemas and karaoke bars across the nation were ordered closed. Even more interesting is that some Government websites changed their backdrops to black. China doesn't have many national displays of mourning, however, it is clear that when it does it is not a half hearted effort.

The rains began in May after a severe drought hurt China's Southern provinces. Te floods have been declared the worst since 1998 when over 4,100 people lost their lives. The difference between then and now is that the rainfall is more concentrated in specific areas.

The worst effected region was Zhouqu in Gansu province. The region still has hundreds of residents unaccounted for and continuing lashing rains are making the relief effort on muddy roads very difficult. One third of the town is still underwater.

However, there is some good news. The Chinese Government swiftly returned power to the region following the mudslides and while some cases of diaorrea have been reported it is not said to be at epidemic levels. Hundreds of tonnes of Sichun pepper and garlic have been dispatched to the region as they are believed to guard against various ailments. The Government has not calculated a new official death toll. It is estimated at
more than 1,200.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 8

2010-08-15T17:00:00.002+01:00

Welcome to the penultimate edition of my me and Studio Ghibli feature. To day we are going to look at the two latest Ghibli releases on this side of the world in a Miyazaki double bill. However, the first of the two sees Hayao taking a break from the director's chair and letting his son have a go.

2006-Tales From Earthsea
Tales From Earthsea is the directorial debut of Goro Miyazaki, who must surely be commended for following in the footsteps of his father in the face of the obvious scrutiny and inevitable criticism he was going to face

The film is set in the fictional land of Earthsea where two dragons in the sky have appeared and are seen to eat each other an omen of impending disaster. The story follows the journey of the young Prince Arren rescued by Lord Archmage Sparrowhawk as they venture to find the source of the imbalance. They track it down to Cob who's drive to find the secrets of immortality threatens to destroy the land.

Thematically Earthsea is adapted from an epic series of books by Ursula le Guin taking characters and situations from across the series. While the possible romantic interest between the young prince Arren and Therru is not a fully realised one the theme of love is clearly present. Also tackled is the idea of immortality and the never ending conflict between good and evil.

Earthsea received a very mixed reception. Opponents said that the film lacked humour and was poorly knitted together. Others lauded the film's strong animation and beautiful action scenes. This film paradoxically won Japan's Bunshun Raspberry Award for Worst Film and Goro took Worst Director but was still nominated for Animation of the Year by the Japanese academy.

The film also drove a rift between Goro and Hayao with Hayao believing his son was poorly qualified to take on a film. During the film's production neither men spoke. Although Hayao did attend the first screening of the film and wrote in a note to his son that the film was honestly made and therefore good. It is hard not to agree that Goro lacked the necessary experience to write and direct the film. While it isn't bad by any means it is one of the weakest in the Ghibli catalogue. The film lacks any energy and drags for much of its run time. However, I have no doubt the Goro will learn from this experience and will make some fantastic films in the future and hopefully people willl judge him for himself rather than his parents. It is getting its first US theatrical release as we speak, opening the 13th of August 2010.

2008-Ponyo
Ponyo is the latest Miyazaki film to be released and is a complete stylistic shift in terms of animation for the company using a dazzling watercolour style to bring Ponyo and Sosuke's magical world to life.

Ponyo is a little fish who is washed ashore on a beach in a fishing town in Japan where Sosuke a young boy finds her. Then she licks his finger to heal the cut he has on it. She has escaped form her father and is happy for Sosuke to take care of her and feed her ham, her favourite snack everyday. Her father comes searching for her and brings her back to the ocean. She sttates she is in love with Sosuke and manages to grow legs and arms as a consequence of the human blood she tasted healing Sosuke's wound. Before fully escaping she releases her father's magic potion which fully transforms her into a human but in the meantime throws the whole world out of balance. Can Ponyo and Sosuke find a way to clear up this mess and stay together?

In setting out to make Ponyo Miyazaki said he wanted to cater to a group younger than those who could enjoy Totoro. And this film really does skew towards toddlers. however, I loved in nonetheless. The way in which it basks in the wonder and amazement of children will have you smiling from ear to ear. Ponyo though, is a film that keeps love firmly to the forefront which in any film besides Ponyo would be slightly bizarre. for a man in his twighlight years Miyazaki has an unparalleled ability to venture into a world of wonder and magicg that is lost to most people half his age.

Ponyo was released in the US last year by Disney to a much greater marketing push than other Ghibli films. Apparently the Studio was angry at the paltry takings of their films in the West. While Im unaware of their promotion was successful the film did open to 927 theaters in America compared to just 26 for Spirited Away and 36 for Howls Moving Castle. It has grossed over $200 million dollars worldwide. Its score is also mightily impressive winning the Outstanding Musical Achievement at the 32nd Japanese Academy awards as well as receiving the prize for Animation of the Year.

Next week I'll be wrapping up the feature and looking at the future of one of the worlds most beloved animation houses.

Weekend Randomness: An Interesting Awakening

2010-08-14T17:45:00.000+01:00

Anyone looking for an amusing anecdote for the weekend could do a lot worse than talking to Arctic explorer Sebastian Plur Nilssen. The 23 year old was traveling with his companion Ludvig Fjeld as they attempted to become the first duo to ever travel around the Arctic island archipeligo of Svalbard, a region home to 2,700 citizens belonging to the kingdom of Norway.

While this is no mean feet in and of itself it was undoubtedly made just a tad more difficult by the events of one morning just last week where Mr Nilssen woke up to find himself in jaws of the worlds largest land predator, an adult male polar bear. He was subsequently dragged screaming in the jaws of the bear from the tent having tried to grab his shotgun but noticing the bear had managed to bend it in half.

His colleague reached for the group's spare shotgun and aimed it at the bear. However, in his own words he said, "I was about 20 or 25 metres from the bear and it had Sebastian in its mouth, I was very worried I did not want to hit Sebastian as well. That would have been a really bad day for him". While that sentence may just be enough to scoop Mr Fjeld the award for biggest understatement of the year he was responsible for saving his friends life. While the polar bear dropped Mr Nilssen after one shot Fjeld shot three extra bullets into the animal to make sure he was in fact dead. The strict laws governing the conservation of polar bears states that a polar bear may only be shot at in self defense.

The bear managed to penetrate one of Mr Nilssen's lungs and stopped just short of rupturing one of his major arteries, which would surely have resulted in his death. He was air lifted out of the remote group of islands, to a hospital where he quickly received three hour emergency surgery. He is expected to make a full recovery and was quite upbeat when speaking to reporters saying, I must be one of the only people in the world who can say when people ask me about my scars, 'I got them in a fight with a polar bear'." While that may be true. looking at his injuries I doubt many others would envy his position.

The Story of Sakineh Mohammedi Ashtiani

2010-08-13T17:54:00.000+01:00

The Islamic Republic of Iran is not known for its leniency in the face of crime. It imposes a strict form of Shariah law making its legal system somewhat at odds with the generally held morality across much of Europe and parts of America. But very few cases have caused as much controversy outside the country as the case of Sakineh Mohammedi Ashtiani.

Ms Ashtiani has been detained since 2006 in East Azerbaijan.In May of that year she was sentenced to 99 lashes for illicit relationships with two men following the death of her husband.. In September of 2006 the case was re-opened during the trial of the of the man accused of murdering her husband. It was claimed she had committed the more sever crime of adultery with the accused and was sentenced to death by stoning. She denied the allegation.

Needless to say the conviction caused an outcry all over the world as human rights groups rushed to condemn the decision of the court. Even international Governments weighed in on the debate with the Brazlian Government notably coming out against the ruling. It had been one of the nations defending Iran in the nuclear controversy speaking out against the sanctions and engaging with them to find a better solution to their diplomatic problems. However, it angered Iran by offering amnesty to Ms Ashtiani, a request which the Islamic Republic of course denied.

Concerns for Ms Ashtiani's safety in the immediate future have heightened after she appeared on Iranian TV stating she was aware of her husbands cousin's plan to kill her husband and was an accessory to the killing, while at the same time having an affair with her husbands murderer. She also stated she would sue her lawyer for bringing attention to her case and embarassing her.

However it appears that the international media has its doubts that the confession was legitimate with her lawyer stating that it was most likely made after being tortured by Iranian officials. Some sectors even claimed the woman speaking was an actress. Indeed it has yet to be independently verified that the woman speaking was Ms Ashtiani. Numerous convicted criminals in Iran have been forced to make a confession through torture and coercion, later speaking out about their ordeals.

The international pressure however has not gone unheard in Iran. A 25 year old woman convicted of adultery lost her baby in prison after being beaten up in prison. Her sentence has been changed to hanging after condemnation of the cruel form of execution from outside. Another young woman aged 19 was imprisoned at 15 after her husband claimed she had an extra-marital affair. Her original sentence was to be execute but this has now been reduced to 100 lashes.

The case of Ms Ashtiani, a 43 mother of two, has captured a great deal of media attention for the plight of many women convicted under the harshest moral issues dealt with in Shariah law. It raises the question of how involved we as a worldwide community of people should be involved in the laws of individual nations. Clearly the possible execution of anyone for adultery is abhorrent to most people in the West does that give us the right to condemn others for their beliefs? Personally I believe it is important that Iran is allowed to decide for itself freely and democratically but I do fully support the work of human rights groups.

What is your opinion? Leave a comment below.

Disaster Continues in Pakistan

2010-08-11T15:25:00.000+01:00

Starting last week the news wires broke the story of the torrential floods in Pakisatan. The TV and internet showed reports of catastrophic waves of water literally submerging vast expanses of land and claiming the lives of hundreds of citizens.

At the same time the news networks over here were running the story of the Pakistani President's trips to Europe including a much publicised meeting with the British Prime Minister David Cameron after his recent visit to India where he claimed Pakistan was a supporting terrorists in its borders, something that drew significant dissent from the Government in Pakistan. One interviewee speaking on Sky News claimed that President Zadari's trip in terms of the scale of the disaster would have been something akin to George W Bush talking his whole Senate on holiday during the Katrina disaster.

But now the relief effort has begun. The Taliban who are in control of a region in the north west of the country have asked the Government to reject foreign aid saying the Western aid agencies are trying to enforce their own agenda. It has stated it will fund the relief effort if the Government takes its advice.

The sheer scale of the disaster is difficult to believe. While the death toll stands at 1,500 (in conservative estimations) the number of people who have actually been directly effected by the floods is a staggering 14 million people. This figure is more than the numbers effected in the aiti Eathquake and 2005 Asian Tsunami combined.

The UN has pledged $400 million to the relief effort but the flooding is not over yet. The flood waters are expected to move further South over the coming days. The Indus river is expected to achieve an exceptionally high flood water. $20 million of the UN relief effort fund will focus on the South as the devastated area expands.

A UN Report is Bad News for Afghanistan

2010-08-10T21:57:00.000+01:00

A long awaited report released today by the UN has detailed a sharp increase in the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan in the first six months of this year. The figure marked a 36% increase on the same period last year. About 76 of the casualities were caused by anti-Government forces.

The death toll for the for the period stood at 1,271 with a further 1,997 injured, mainly in roadside bombings. The toll from NATO lead forces and pro-Government forces dropped 30% to 386 ,while the share for the Taliban rose from 53% to 76% according to the report. A spokesman for the Taliban has denied the claims.

An important statistic that came from the report was that child mortality rates rose by 55% to 179 over the same period last year, while 389 children were injured .Another shocking fact to come from the study was that public executions by insurgents rose by 95% due mainly to controlled areas in the South of the nation. These executions included the public execution of children.

The main reason for the drop in the civilian death tole was a limiting of the circumstances in which air strikes could be used. These had been the leading cause of civilian casualties by the US led invasion forces. The Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said the the biggest fuel for the insurgency has been the number of civilian casualties.

Last month the whistle blowing website Wiki leaks sourced a number of documents relating to the war. They stated that the number of civilian casualties was much higher than was previously reported in the media. Still according to the UN casualty figures have grown in 2008, 2009 and 2010. If this trend continues it would appear that we could be dealing with a more and more popular insurgency and an extended conflict and that is the last thing anyone wants.

Environmental Disaster Grips Russia

2010-08-09T18:00:00.000+01:00

Russia is currently gripped by some of the worst forest fires in the millennium long history of the nation according to top meteorologist Andrei Seltsovsky. It has resulted in a mass exodus from the country's capital as acid smog from fires 100 km away descends on Moscow.

The response from the central Government until recently has been one of totally ignoring the existence of any problem. The results for the citizens have been devastating. The mortality rates in the city have almost doubled, rocketing from 360-380 a day on average to something in the region of 1,00 people. 1,300 of the 1,500 spaces in city morgues are currently occupied.Also 104,000 passengers, a record for this year flew out of Moscow on Sunday. The figure for the same day last year was 70,000.

The situation shows no signs of alleviating any time soon. Over the past 24 hours 270 new forest fires have ravaged the land. The current toll of fires now 554 stretching over a region of 190,000 hectares. The disaster has caused the Government to place a temporary ban on all exports of grain and grain products. The number of people directly killed in the fires is 52.

Moscow has been painfully and fatally slow to react to the level of pollution in the capital. Carbon monoxide levels Saturday were 6 times the reasonably accepted limits and other toxic substances were 9 times the recommended levels. It is clear that if something isn't done soon the fires will not only take the forests buyt the lives of many more Muscovites as well.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 7

2010-08-08T16:18:00.001+01:00

In the 7th part of our Studio Ghibli film we approach the middle of the 21st century with the directorial debut of Hiroyuki Morita, the Cat Returns and Miyazaki's second to latest Howl's Moving Castle.

2001-The Cat Returns
The Cat Returns is the second theatrical feature by Studio Ghibli not to be directed by either Takahata or Miyazaki. It has a rather fascinating history based on Whisper of the Heart (detailed in Part 5) which I'll explain later.

The plot deals with the story of Haru, an average high school student in Japan who has the bizarre ability to talk to cats. When she saves the cat prince's son from being run over by a car she is offered his hand in marriage and numerous gifts. When she doesn't refuse outright she is whisked away to the land of cats. As she slowly herself begins turning feline she must plan her escape and return home with the help of the Baron.

Thematically the film does away with the traditional environmental ideas that pervade most of Ghibli's work. However, the journey Haru takes is quite typical of the Studio herself being a young woman in her teenage years.

It began life as a short to test young animator's abilities at t he studio. They had been asked to compose a short based on cats by a Japanese theme park. Aoi Hiiraji who had written the novel on which Whisper of the Heart was based was asked to write the manga from which the short would be derived. The responsibility for the short would fall on the shoulders of Hiroyuki Morita.Eventually on the strength of the main character a feature film was commissioned.

The film is one of the weakest in the Ghibli stable however, it was in fact the first of their work that I ever saw so it did inspire me to delve deeper into their canon. While it may lack the depth of storytelling of Princess Mononoke or Pom Poko it is still an enjoyable journey with Haru into the magical kingdom of cats.

2004-Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle had an interesting history. Originally slated to be the directorial debut of Mamoru Hosoda for Ghibli, he abruptly left the project leaving it to Miyazaki to take the rains. The film is based on the novel by Diana Wynnes Jones of the same name.

The plot follows Sophie a young girl made elderly by the spell of the witch of the waste. Previously befriended by the magical Howl she finds her way to his moving castle where she hides out trying to find a way to remedy her curse.

The film again deals with the intellectual growth of the female lead. It also shines a light on narcissism, the struggle between good and evil and young love. Particularly fascinating for me was the degeneration of the witch of the waste. She begins the tale a bitter old woman but by its conclusion has been taken in by Howl and Sophie as she herself has become a frail elderly woman nonthreatening and capable of rousing pity in the audience. I also enjoyed the performance of Jean Simmons as older Sophie. She succeeded in embodying the girl with a youthful energy besides the outer appearance, showing age is independent of personality.

The film was a roaring success for the company and to this day it remains the 4th most successful film of all time in Japan. It was also nominated for the 2006 Oscar for Best Animated Film. Critically lauded and the receiver of a multitude of awards in Japan Howls moving castle re-asserted Miyazaki's position at the top of the list of worldwide masters of animation.

If you want to catch up on any of the editions in the series check the archive and make sure to check back next week at the same time for more as we are brought right up to date with the releases of this animation powerhouse.

Weekend Randomness: Tokyo' Oldest Woman

2010-08-07T12:26:00.000+01:00

Yes on first look this might appear to be a repost but this really remarkably is a different story. Indeed, if you missed my post this time last week on Tokyo's oldest man you might want to take a look at it because it is as a direct result of that eerie finding that this latest revelation has come about.

Sparked by said eerie events the relevant authorities in Tokyo have begun investigating the whereabouts of their cities centenarians. They have now bene forced to start the hunt for Fusa Furuya, said to be Tokyo's oldest living female resident at 103 years of age.

She was said to be living with her daughter. However, her daughter now says she has not seen her mother since 1986 when she moved into her current flat in the megalopolis. She stated however, that she registered her mother's address to her flat and continued paying her health insurance just in case.

The search then moved on to the woman's son who is 71 years of age. The address supplied by the woman's daughter led police to an abandoned construction site. When he was finally tracked down he was just as clueless to his mother's whereabouts as his sister.

Police are also searching for 4 other centenarians in the capital and one in Nagoya. It casts doubt on the validity of Japan's claim to 40,388 people above the age of 100. The society must find a way to better assess the longevity of its residents or else cases of fraud like those of the Kato family may not be such rare events.

Homosexuals Hopeful in the Americas

2010-08-06T17:23:00.000+01:00

Homosexuals across the Americas are facing a historic period in the history of their civil rights drive. On Wednesday the news wires were awash with the story of a federal judge's overturning of California's ban on same-sex marriage brought in by the Proposition 8 vote at the same time as the last Presidential Election in November 2008.

A similar ruling was made in Mexico's Supreme court yesterday decreeing that a fledgling law allowing for same sex marriage in the city was not unconstitutional as had been claimed by the federal prosecuters who stated it violated the parts of the constitution which enshrined protection for the family.

The Court must also vote on Monday if a law allowing adoption in the capital is also unconstitutional. Interestingly the judges in the Supreme Court who supported same-sex marriage 8-2 have yet to decide on the scope of their ruling. They must decide whether it will simply effect the Mexico City jurisdiction or also states surrounding it, effectively legalising same sex marriage nationwide.

Canada became the first nation in the Americas to legalise same sex marriage in 2005. Argentina followed suit but with an interim period of 5 years. Currently there are 5 US states which allow for same sex marriage as does the district of Columbia.

However, this recent ruling by the federal judge on the Proposition 8 vote has set in motion the wheels of change. The ruling will be contested by opponents of gay marriage and it could end up heading to the nation's Supreme Court. Here in the highest court in the land the constitutionality of gay marriage would be settled once and for all which could pave the way for a nationwide legalisation of the practice.

With North America seeming to make significant strides towards gay marriage on the continent and Argentina and Uruguay leading a continent that is opening up to the idea there have been and appear to be some rays of hope for the gay communities in this region.

However, the situation in the Caribbean is a lot more desperate. Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados amongst other maintain laws banning all homosexual acts or at least acts involving men. The regions homosexuals still face a great deal of prosecution and equality seems a distant dream.

Kenya Goes to the Polls

2010-08-05T19:09:00.000+01:00

Preliminary results released today in Kenya show that the country seems set to make a historic decision. It is replacing its old British colonial era with a new draft. The constitution currently in use in the country was drawn up in 1963 paving the way for Kenyan independence from the British colonial powers.

Supporters of the new constitution claim that it will dramatically reduce the powers of the President and make him more accountable to the people. This is an important amendment given the violence that erupted following the disputed results of the 2007 election. Then, ethnically fueled violence resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 citizens. The stories of the atrocities make for some harrowing reading.

The Christian Churches were the major groups in opposition of the draft constitution stating that it provides "abortion on tap". The provisions of the constitution state that life does in fact begin at conception but allows for abortion in emergency situations. The main Catholic and Anglican churches also objected to the enshrining in the constitution of Islamic courts. The fact that the largely Christian country (88%) ignored the advise of their Church is quite interesting.

The new constitution also brings in much needed land reform and lays down a bill of rights for all Kenyans. It also allows for the first time allows for dual citizenship, welcomed by the large Kenyan diaspora in many African nations.

Overall it seems there is widespread support and happiness across the country. The test now is to make sure the horrific scenes of 2007 aren't repeated and that the result is respected before the Government even begins to consider the widespread reform needed to implement a new constitution. Kenya still has a long journey to make.

The Great and Ridiculous "Ground Zero " Mosque Debate

2010-08-04T16:32:00.000+01:00

A fervent debate has gripped the citizens of New York over a proposed Islamic Cultural Centre on the site of an old factory a couple of blocks away from the site of Ground Zero. Recently, the opposition of the proposal was dealt a blow when officials in the East Coast city declared that the old coat factory was not worthy of historical landmark status and was free to be demolished.

Some major figures in America have weighed in on both sides. Sarah Palin sided with the opponents dubbing it "An Intolerable Mistake on Hallowed Ground" on social networking site facebook, while the Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg stated that any opposition to the proposal was "un-American". A New York fireman has stated he will launch legal action against the proposal.

The issue once again highlights the age old American question of how far to take freedom of religion and freedom of expression. However, in my mind this isn't about freedom of speech or expression it is simply about a worrying trend in America over the last few years, alarmist Islamophobia. We have seen absolutely the brutal consequences of fundamentalist Islam. Also we have seen how to much trust in Christian doctrine has led to rampant paedophilia in Western societies amongst other things.

I am confused as to what exactly the opponents of the Mosque are looking for. Is there supposed to be a set down buffer zone where no Mosques are allowed to be built around Ground Zero? I can understand how if a Mosque were placed directly on the site it could be seen as needlessly inflammatory but the moderate Muslim community of America have just as much of a right to pray anywhere in America as any other religious group. By removing this right we are equating all Muslims with terrorism. To deny the building of this cultural centre would be an act of Government sponsored racism.

let me know how you feel on the issue by dropping a comment below.

Sarkozy's War

2010-08-03T17:38:00.000+01:00

Recent times have been tough for French President Nicholas Sarkozy. Over the past number of weeks there has been mounting scandal in Paris over alleged illegal campaign funding cash given to Sarkozy in 2007. The cash was said to have come from the billionaire heiress to the L'Oreal fortune Liliane Bettencourt .

The claims came from Ms Bettencourt's former accountant who say that the Sarkozy campaign received €150,000 or $196,000 in 2007. The woman also claimed that she had been put under "severe pressure" to retract the claims and that Sarkozy's current Labour Minister and Treasurer of his Party Eric Woerth was the man who is said to have picked up the illegal donation. Liliane Bettencourt is also in trouble over claims she dodged millions in tax illegally. Woerth's wife was a former financial adviser to Ms Bettencourt.
So against this backdrop of scandal Sarkozy's ratings in the polls began to tumble considerably. Before the scandal his approval rating was around 36% owing to considerable unemployment and apparent policy gaffes in the minds of the French people. After the scandal broke in July it is now sailing around the 25% mark. Indeed, times are tough for the French leader.

It seems that Nicholas isn't going to rest on his laurels. One of the reasons for his rise to the position of President was that he proposed to take a tough stance on security and immigration issues and this policy he has returned to in recent weeks, to highly publiceised results.

just last week the international news wire was awash with stories of Sarkozy's battle with the Romany community in France. He proposed their immediate expulsion from the country triggered by clashes between the group and police following the shooting dead of a young member of their community while he was trying to flee from the police. He claimed those involved in the clashes would be "severely punished".

The problem for Sarkozy is the majority of immigrants are coming from Bulgaria and Romania which are EU member states who's residents are legally entitled to stay in France for a time without a visa.

Now the President has announced new tough measures planning to revoke citizenship to people who were born outside of France if they are found to commit crimes threatening the authority of the state. These are people who were born outside of France but have earned their French citizenship.

France's constitution enshrines a blindness towards ethnicity. If a citizen has French citizenship then they are simply French. Therefore, targeting people who were not born in France or specific ethnic groups raises doubts about their constitutionality.

These reforms are planning on being pushed through quickly but unfortunately for sarkozy their announcement has come at a time when France's immigration policy is facing severe scrutiny. In the past few days this shocking video of police quieting African immigrants protesting in Paris which sent shockwave's through the nation. It is clear Sarkozy's war is far from won.

Peace in Colombia?

2010-08-02T15:26:00.001+01:00

The Southern American Andean nation of Colombia is known for a couple of reasons, drug cartels and Shakira. However, the nation has been embroiled in bitter violence between Government forces and Marxist rebels since the 1960s.

The rebels emerged after a thawing of relations between the two largest political parties in the State in the 1960 after decades of violence. They were founded with generally Marxist doctrines and the largest of the groups is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

They claim to be in support of workers rights and against US military interference in their country. at their height their forces stood at 16,00 but now have been cut down to less than half of that figure. In the past few days they have offered to enter into talks with the Government to end the decades old conflict.

The forces were damaged by a grand offensive against them in 2002 under the administration of President Uribe, backed by the United States. Indeed the policies of the President due to be replaced on the 7th of this month have lead to a dramatic decrease in violence in the nation and an upturn in multinational investment and tourist trade. The incumbent President Santos has vowed to continue these policies.

After 40 years of violence Uribe seems apprehensive about the validity of the FARC sentiment. he said of the video released Tuesday "When the terrorist snake feels it is being suffocated, then it asks for peace processes, to take oxygen and come back to poison again."

With the changing of the administration there is also seen an opportunity in thawing frosty relations between Colombia and its neighbour Venezuela. Uribe charged Chavez's administration with harbouring members of FARC and other rebel groups. Indeed Chavez has publicly stated he does not believe the groups to be terrorist in nature and believes they should be recognised as belligerant forces making them subject to the laws of the Geneva Convention.

It is clearly an important period in Colombia's history. They have launched a largely successful offensive on these groups and the drug cartels who funded them. They are now faced with a possible ceasefire. Sure they have a long way to go but perhaps these are the first steps to a lasting ceasefire in a nation that has seen its fair share of political turmoil.

Weekend randomness: Tokyo's Oldest Man

2010-07-31T20:15:00.001+01:00

Update: A story regarding the whereabouts of Tokyo's oldest woman has come about it the past week. Catch up at the link.

The current world life expectancy average is 67.5 years with the Japanese being the most long lived population in the world with average life expectancy of 82.6 years. This contrasts with the average in Swaziland of just 39.6 years. This weekends random news comes from Tokyo, a thriving metropolis of nearly 14,000,000 people.

So in such a long lived population there is a lot of interest in just who is the most aged resident in the city. Up until this week the record was held by one Sogen Kato a man of 111 years. The record for world's oldest man is held by another Japanese person Tamoji Tanabe in the Southern City of Miyakonojo. He is also 111 years.

Now this is where our story takes an eerie turn. Recently the record keepers in Tokyo were updating their list of centenarians in preparation for Japan's Elderly Day (best idea ever) taking place in September.. He hadn't been seen in public in 30 years and his family had claimed him to be a devout Buddhist choosing the path of a Buddha on earth without food, water or contact with the outside world. Every time the authorities wanted to search the house they were told Kato was out of town.

However, this past week family members reported seeing a skull in his old bedroom. The police called to the house that same day. What they found was not the elderly man they had been looking for but his mummified corpse. Sogen Kato was lain on a bed in pajamas and a blanket strewn over him. He had been dead for the entire time, 30 years.

The police have now begun an inquiry into his family members questioning whether they may have fraudulently claimed over 9.5million yen in pension payments. 2.5 million yen was withdrawn from his account earlier this month.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 6

2010-07-30T21:17:00.001+01:00

In this, part 6 of my Studio Ghibli Feature we will be crossing into the 21st century and there is no finer way to get there than weith the critically lauded Spirited Away. But first let us take a look at one of the Studio's and Takahata's most overlooked gems, My Neighbours the Yamadas.

1999-My Neighbours the Yamadas

My Neighbours the Yamadas is Isao Takahata's fourth film for the studio and the most instantly stylistically different from the other films in the Ghibli canon. It has a look of a moving water-colour painting and has the accolade of being the first Ghibli feature ever to be entirely computer animated.

The plot deals with the everyday life of the Yamada family. It is not only distinct from all other Ghibli due to its art style it is also the only released film in the Ghibli canon to not follow a continuous plot. The film is a series of vignettes. Each has its own title and give us little insights into daily life such as a game of catch between father and son or losing a child at the mall.

Thematically this film is simply dealing with a traditional nuclear family. It deals with literally every aspect of traditional family life. And all characters in the film are equally traditional. The Grandmother is somewhat senile and the Dad likes nothing more than plonking down in his favourite chair with the newspaper waiting on his wife to make the dinner. Writing about it now it seems cliche although this never hit me during about the film.

The film was critically acclaimed and won the 1999 Excellence Award for Animation at the Japan Media Arts Festival. However, it was not such a success at the box office. The Japanese public were missing out on a movie that fully captures the culturally universal family experience in a gentle comedy perfect for a lazy Summer afternoon.

2001-Spirited Away
Often considered Miyazaki's greatest work to date Spirited Away is easily the most recognisable of all of the Studio's work and the one that has gained the most success worldwide. The first Ghibli film of the new decade came with a roar not a whimper.

Spirited Away tells the story of Chihiro, a ten year old girl who is about to move house. On the way her parents get lost and decide to explore the locality. Here, they come upon an abandoned theme park and begin to chow down on the food mysteriously fresh at a stand in the theme park. As the parents eat their fill Chirio begins exploring. Night falls and the park lights up, mysterious figures begin getting off of docking boats and Chihiro returns to her parents to find they have morphed into pigs. As she finds her way in this magical world of spirits and Gods she must find a way to get her parents back and finally get to her new home.

The film deals with the time in our lives when we are challenged to grow up, the period between adulthood and childhood. We clearly see this happen to Chihiro throughout the film. The film also, thematically contrasts the worlds of old and modern Japan and the struggle between the ancient spirituality of Japan and its modern detached and what may be perceived as ignorant nature.

Spirited Away is not only the highest grossing of all Ghibli's films it is also the highest grossing film of all time in Japan. It is the only Anime ever to win an Oscar winning for Best Animated Film. It also won the Golden Bear at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival. The film has been lauded across the world and is truely an epic masterpiece created by one of the greatest animators and directors who ever lived.

If you've missed any of the posts in this feature you can find them in the widget below or in the blog archive. Look out for part 7 next week.

The Arizona Immigration Debate

2010-07-29T18:55:00.000+01:00

All over America people have argued the legality of the proposed Arizona immigration bill, parts of which have come into effect today. Just yesterday the Obama administration won a key victory when parts of the bill were deemed unconstitutional by District Judge Sarah Bolton. The moved has angered many republicans in the border state which suffers greatly from the immigration crisis.

The Governor of the State Jan Brewer is planning to appeal the decision of the judge and it looks likely the bill will be taken to the supreme court. Many other states across America were considering enacting similar laws and now it seems there pans may have hit a roadblock.

So what exactly was removed from the bill and what in fact has come into law? The judge removed the part of the law which allowed for police officers to randomly question a person on their immigration status if they believe thye are in the country illegally. It also removed the right of police to arrest without warrant anyone they expect of being subject to deportation.Forcing people to carry their immigration details on them at all times was also taken out of the bill and so was the stipulation banning "aliens" from apply for, solicit or perform work.

However, from today so called "sanctuary cities" have now been outlawed from today. These were places with liberal immigration laws that made it easier for illegal immigrants. Also sanctions will now be imposed on any employer who gives day work to illegal immigrants.

The issue has driven a rift between the state and federal Government, between those who believe the issue should be dealt with locally and those who believe it is a matter for the central administration. While Obama has indeed one the battle the war s far from over.

India Extends Warm Welcome to Burmese Ruler

2010-07-28T22:19:00.000+01:00

India has face waves of criticism from human rights groups due to a high profile 5 day long visit from General Than Shwe of Myanmar (Burma). The general berated by human rights groups for the illegality of his rule and the appalling human rights record in his country, was given a ceremonial welcome and greeted by top Indian officials as a State guest before being driven to the shrine of Mahatma Gandhi to pay homage to the late spiritual leader.

The Indian Government once was a staunch supporter of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi but began having greater dealings with the illegal rulers in the mid 1990s. The two nations have actually been allies since 1951 when they signed what was known as a 'treaty of friendship'. Since then the nations are estimated to have traded $1 billion worth of goods.

So if India was willing to support Burmese democracy why did it turn into one of the few backers of the oppressive regime? The reasons are defense and economic.

Both India and its equally powerful neighbour China are on a mission to tap into the resources of their smaller Asian counterparts and both are very interested in the largely ignored oil reserves, mineral reserves and gas fields of Myanmar.Also, India shares a border with Myanmar on which tensions have been rising as separatists add to growing tension in the North East.

The West has imposed numerous sanctions on the state and band travel to the region however, these sanctions impact have been diluted by support from India, China and Thailand.

Later this year the country will hold its first elections since 1990. The then winner Aung San Suu Kyi will remain imprisoned during these elections and will be banned from competing. For the county's recent vote on its new constitution citizens were marched to polling stations by armed military personnel. General Than Shwe will be keen to get India's support for the elections however this is unlikely. The EU and US have described the ballot as a shame.

Many senior figures in India are keen to stress that engagement is not an endorsement. While it may be true that if India didn't engage with the Burmese China would pick up the slack, does this justify their support of one of the worlds cruelest dictatorships? What d you think?

The Iraq Inquiry

2010-07-27T21:43:00.002+01:00

Today all eyes in Britain were on Hans Blix as he made his appearance before the chairs of the Iraq Enquiry. For those of you who may have forgotten (or who haven't yet seen Team America) Blix worked for the UN as chief weapons inspector at the time George W Bush threw charges at the administration of Saddam Hussein of harbouring nuclear weapons, or what have now become known as Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Of course we now know that Blix found no such ammunitions but the US swears by its belief stating that they were concealed from the inspector. However, later reports confirmed that Iraq had abandoned its weapons programme many years ago. Blix has since become a staunch opponent of the Iraq war. he claimed that the U.S. was "high on military" at the inquiry saying it believed it could get away with anything.

So what is the purpose of the Iraq inquiry? It is intended to report on how the British nation handled the conflict and make recommendations on how it could handle future conflicts should they arise. What is not within its remit is to hypothesize on the legality or otherwise of the struggle. The two main political parties in Britain believed in the War however the party of the deputy Prime Minister has professed its illegality when speaking for his coalition partner in the house of Commons last week.

With popular support for the War standing at all time lows and evidence at an absolute zero as regards why Bush decided to invade Iraq. There are so many countries in this world with brutal and opressive dictators., why single out sadam? The US supported Pol Pot , a man exponentially crueler. It is hard to argue against Blix. He was there and saw first hand who the Americans got their information from. Perhaps the inquiry isnt going far enough. The Inquiry's report is expected sometime around the turn of the year.

The Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Genocide

2010-07-26T18:31:00.000+01:00

The most prominent international story of today is that of the sentencing of Kaong Guek Eav chief torturer in th regime of the Khmer rouge. He received 35 years 11 of which were taken off for being already served and 5 more for co-operating with the court. He faces charges of overseeing the murder of 14,000 in the horrifying genocide and countless rapes amongst other charges of inhumane acts, torture and crimes against humanity.

Across Cambodia people crowded in cafes and houses to watch the broadcast live on television. There was widespread outrage at the verdict. many had demanded he be imprisoned for the rest of his life. As one man pointed out he would be spending just 11 hours in jail for each of the murders he oversaw as head of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison. The Cambodians have earned their right to anger. Their suffering has been great and so far retribution pitiful.

Rising to power in 1975 the Maoist leadership of Cambodia was one of the most brutal of all time. In the 4 years in whihc it reigned over the people of Cambodia it succeeded in the mass genocide of over 20% of the countries population. its philosophy was that of agrarian socialism which professes the benefits of an agricultural based existence and socialist economic policy.

From 1976 the leader of the Khmer Rouge movement was Pol Pot, easily one of the most inhumane leaders of the 20th century. Following on from the Maoist anti intellectual doctrine. He had all educated people put to death. he even had those who wore glasses killed as this to him was a sign of their literacy. He also killed anyone of any ethnic minority and Cambodian Christians, even though a blanket wide ban on religion was enforced. Also anyone attempting to practice any kind of capitalism meet a similar fate.

All urban centres were emptied in favour of collectivised rural settlements. the lack of knowledge of urban dwellers about agriculture made famine and starvation inevitable. All money was gotten rid of and children were separated as they were more easily brainwashed than their parents. Many children lead torture camps and murders and education was completely forbidden. Not only was religion banned but many of the pagados in the majority Buddhist country were turned into prisons. All forms of long distance communication were also outlawed meaning separated families couldn't get in contact with each other.

The group survived after it was forced to move to the Thai border by an invasion by the Vietnamese in 1979. It was backed by the UN as the rightful Government in Cambodia and did not fully dissolve itself until 1999. Today, marks the first sentencing of one of the regimes brutal slaughterers. Pol Pot died in 1998 under suspicious circumstances without a trial. The court set up for the trials will soon announce whether it will try four more of the regimes top officials. If it does a verdict is not expected till 2014 at the earliest by which time many will be dead. Also there is distinct resistance to the trails from Cambodian Government where many Khmer Rouge servants still carry weight. It seems further justice may be a distant dream in a nation that has bore more than its fair share of suffering.

Weekend Randomness:The Taiwanese Newsreader

2010-07-24T22:16:00.001+01:00

Another week has flown by meaning its is time for another piece of weekend randomness. If you have missed out on any of the other editions in this series you can check them out in the blog archive on the side bar. This nugget of brilliance comes courtesy of Huang Ching a Taiwanese newsreader.

Last Wednesday while live on air the newsreader was the victim of a mosquito. The small insect was seen across homes in the nation crawling into the newsreader's mouth. Subsequently, the woman could be seen struggling for breath while valiantly trying to read out the rest of the news. Eventually, while in the midst of a sever asthmatic attack the broadcaster cut to 4 minutes of ads while a replacement presenter was drafted in and Ching was sent to hospital.

The mosquito had become lodged in her windpipe where it had subsequently bitten her. Her employer CTV has given her a few days off to recover. Of the incident she said "I never expected a mosquito to have so much power. It really gave me a bad day." The dangers of live TV news broadcasting. who knew?

North Korea on the Offensive Again

2010-07-24T19:43:00.001+01:00

There are very few countries I can think of as verbally aggressive as North Korea. In the wake of military drills on the Southern Norther border they released this charming little quote from the central press agency. The said they would "legitimately counter with powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercises to be staged by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces." I don't exactly understand if this is North Korea claiming they are willing to go to war with the super power or basically reminding us they have nuclear weapons.

The drills carried out by the US and South Korean forces were in response to the sinking of a South Korean warship in March. if you missed that you can catch up here. Indeed the threat of War from both sides I believe is minimal. The last thing Obama wants is another war while his efforts to wind down US involvement in Afghanistan are faltering and North Korea, a country with a devastated economy and aging leader surely doesn't want such unrest during a leadership exchange.

So I believe the military drills and also the aggressive reaction are in fact nothing more than political bench-pressing. But the North has "promised" a "physical response". The drills are scheduled to go ahead from Sunday until Wednesday. The people of the South will no doubt be waiting for their climax with bated breath. And as I have previously stated violence is quite unlikely but Kim Jong-Il has proved himself to be nothing less than belligerent in the way he handles international relations.

His administration has used some rather frightening language in the past saying the South would experience "unheard of disastrous consequences" if it misunderstood the North's will. It has also labelled the US an "empire of evil" and it has dubbed Hilary Clinton a "funny lady" and stated she "Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping". However, most amusingly of all it claimed former President Bush was "a hooligan bereft of any personality as a human being, to say nothing of stature as president of a country. He is a half-baked man in terms of morality and a philistine whom we can never deal with."

Starvation in Africa: An all too common Tale

2010-07-24T00:58:00.000+01:00

Today I read a shocking report on the current situation of food shortages in the central African nation of Niger. Here hunger is threatening up to eight million people in the nation, half of its roughly 16 million population. The nation is in dire need of rainfall after drought has destroyed the lifestock of the largely nomadic country. The great hunger also threatens 2 million people in areas of the neighbouring countries of Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and northern Nigeria.

The UN World Food Programme says it only has half of the $213 million people it claims it needs to up the distribution of emergency food aid. Response to the crisis has so far been quite slow. The reason given for this is both obvious and devastating.

Everyone remembers the Ethiopian famine of the 1990's, the horrible devastating pictures of mal-nutrition and deformities and diseases that resulted from it. However, we are yet to see such horrifying pictures appearing on advertisements for charity organisations in the West. The question we have to ask ourselves is why. Why do we need to be shamed into action. Lets look at some statistics to better illustrate my point.

Every year 15 million children die of hunger. They don't have a voice to tell you about their situation but they are there in pain and suffering, right now. Over 160 million kids under 5 currently worldwide are what is classified as malnourished. And here is a fascinating statistic. If you take the assets of the three richest people in the world it is greater than the combined GDP of all of the world's Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Starvation has no place in the civilisation we have created in 2010 (not to say that people arent deeply affected by hunger in parts of the West). If we wait until we are again shamed into action it will be too late. For the estimated 800 million people in the world who are currently starving that will most certainly be too late.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 5

2010-07-21T00:43:00.001+01:00

Today's edition of Me and Studio Ghibli sees us at the mid-nineties with the realease of Whisper of the Heart and one of the studio's most popular works Princess Mononoke. If you have missed any of the other parts of the series you can find the links at the bottom of this post past the page break.

1995-Whisper of the Heart

Whisper of the Heart is interesting in that it is the studio's only work besides Tales from Earthsea and the direct to TV movie Ocean Waves to not be directed by Isao Takahata or Hayao Miyazaki. Instead it was the work of Yoshifumi Kondo who had previously worked at the studio as an animation director. His work can be seen in Only Yesterday and Kiki's Delivery Service. He also worked on Princess Mononoke before his death from overwork by a ruptured aneurysm in 1998. He was tipped to become one of the directors who would take over from an ageing Miyazaki and Takahata.

The plot tells the story of Shizuku Tsukishima, a creative young junior high student living in Tokyo. It essentially tells the story of that tumultuous period in a person's life when they doubt themselves, worry about finding love and acceptance and are forced to decide how best to achieve their dreams. It is a story of teenage angst, love and of course, the Ghibli mainstay of growth.

To me the film was a little bit slow and a little light on plot. However, the message is beautifully executed in the end and will leave the watcher feeling uplifted and inspired.

1997-Princess Mononoke

One of the most instantly recognisable in the Studio Ghibli catalogue, Princess Mononoke is entirely the work of Hayao Miyazaki and is considered one of the greatest works in a stellar library.

Princess Mononoke tells the story of a young prince Ashitaka and the titular unrelated Princess. The boy is attacked by an angry boar and journeys to Iron Town to find a cure. Here he learns the boar was an enraged forestt God and as he remains in his new surroundings he is embroiled in a War between Lady Eboshi trying to destroy the forest to maintain the town she has created, and The Forest Gods including Princess Mononoke a young gurl raised by the Wolf God. Ashitaka seeing the good in both sides tries to stem the flow of blood but is denounced as a traitor by each group. It seems the two worlds are destined to collide.

This film dwells on one of Miyazaki's prominent themes, the destruction of the environment by the human race. However, this film more so than any other of the director's works shows some sympathy for humanity. Lady Eboshi who is in charge of Iron Town is shown to be kind at various points in the film. She saves many prostitutes from lives in the brothel and gives employment to lepers as gunmakers. Humanity does not get off so lightly in later works.

Princess Mononoke is a fantasy epic equal to any of the major works in this genre animated or otherwise. The film draws the viewer in totally and although the film has a lengthy run time it rarely lags. The final few minutes of the film will live a meaningful impact on the viewer that will not be soon forgotten. A master class in animation and storytelling Princess Mononoke is an advertisement for the worth of a genre too often dismissed as child like and light weight.

The film was awarded a myriad of prizes including winning the best picture award from the Japanese film academy. It also became Japan's highest grossing film of all time upon its release. It was overtaken the following year by Titanic. It was made Empire Magazine's list of the 500 greatest film's of all time.The film at the time was also one of the most expensive Anime features ever made with a budget of US $23.5 million.

If youve missed any of the parts of this series catch up below:
Me and Studio Ghibli
Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 2
Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 3
Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 4

Child Sex Tourism in Asia

2010-07-19T20:08:00.000+01:00

Today Mikhail Pletnev, a prominent and Grammy award winning Russian pianist took to the stand for a brief court appearance In Thailand charged with the rape of a 14 year old boy in Pattaya. The conditions of his bail require him to return to the court every 12 days but between these appearances he is free to travel as he wishes internationally. The maximum sentences for the proposed crime is 20 years. Pletnev has stated he is not guilty of the charge.

This allegation, raises again the issue of child sex tourism in Asia. Recent high profile cases of paedophilia in South East Asia have been the conviction of former pop start Gary Glitter and in Ireland only roughly a year ago a lauded Irish language poet was accused of similar offenses in the same region. Its clear that this is a growing and worrying problem.

In 2009 there were 2,888 people charged with child molestation in Thailand and the police are getting tougher on offenders. However. Thailand is a nation that has no specific laws outlawing the ownership of child pornography and has been known for taking a lenient line on offenders in the past. Take for example the case of Swiss banker Cornel Wietlisbach, a man convicted of the abuse of young boys in Chiang Mai. He was originally facing 4 years in prison. This was halved because he co-operated with the police. In the end he was released on parole immediately and deported to Switzerland after paying the equivalent of a $125 fine.

But why do paedophiles travel to poorer Asian nations for sex? There are a couple of reasons. Firstly, in Thailand for example the prisons are severely over crowded and the criminal justice system is simply unable to cope. Also, the sheer poverty of the people in comparison to the Western tourists plays a huge role. Many defendants testimonies are severely altered or retracted after small bribes from the offender. This also helps to explain the incredibly high levels of child prostitution in these nations.

In Cambodia for example, the number of prosecutions has actually decreased in this area year on year while the number of victims has increased. The Government has failed to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of child trafficking. Child sex workers are often sold into the profession by naive or fully aware parents. They can be found up and down the country in night clubs, massage parlours and karaoke bars. In many places the children are encouraged to drink extraordinary amounts of alcohol as clients are forced to pay for everything the child has drank.

Its clear that in the Indian sub continent and former French Polynesian nations child-sex trafficking has become an increasingly worrying epidemic. Its is sadly clear that paedophilia will as it always has remain a problem in human society but we have managed to control it to some degree in Western societies by not only having laws written on paper but also enforcing these laws. It is this crucial difference that has evaded authorities across Asia. And until this happens millions of children will continue to be molested and abused daily in the worlds most populous continent.

Weekend Randomness: I can be people too!

2010-07-17T15:57:00.002+01:00

Update: According to magical internet statistics last week's post on the penguin theft from Dublin Zoo was pretty popular with you guys so I've decided to make Weekend Randomness a weekly feature. Tell me what you guys think in the comments section.

One of the suprising things you find while searching the web on the trawl for the best in international news is the sheer volume of random and brilliantly unique events that happen every day on this crazy planet of ours. But the story that particularly caught my eye this week was that of a pack of gorillas which began making the rounds on Wednesday.

Dr. Davila Ross has a job that most of us would envy, and probably as rare as a social dialectologist. Dr. Ross is an expert in primates with specific focus on play and leisure. Over the past three years she has spearheaded a study into a simple game of chasing (or tag in American) between a group of gorillas in 5 different European zoos.

The study reveals that gorillas display signs of instinctual human behaviour during the typical child's game. They cheat! If two gorillas are chasing each other one will push the other and then run away to get an advantage. More so than this brilliant nugget of information (worth the 3 years of studying it took to get) gorillas are also aware of the strength of a push or shove and will react accordingly. They also amazingly will in fact switch roles when tagged so the chaser will become the chasee and vice versa.

The scientists will tell you that this playful gaming help test the waters of normal social conduct such as when does a shove stop being playful and become a threat. They will also tell you that such games will help with communication skills between the group.

But I believe this study raises further questions. Do gorillas cry to their mothers when they are pushed to hard on the playground? Is their gorilla speak for, "He started it"? If a gorilla goes on a long journey will they ask for ice cream at every garage and constantly cry, "Are we there yet?", to their beleaguered parents? I live in hope these answers are forthcoming.

BP Crisis: End in Sight?

2010-07-16T16:57:00.007+01:00

Undoubtedly the biggest international story of yesterday was that the oil leak had finally stopped for the first time since the 20th of April, almost 3 months ago. While they have plugged the leak celebrations are muted as the relief effort is still in its early stages and a permanent solution is still a long ways off.

The team first needs to measure the pressure in side the well of oil on which their cap was placed. If the inside pressure is high that is a good sign. However, low pressure means that there is a leak somewhere else on the ocean floor releasing oil and therefore lowering the pressure in the well. This operation will be completed, it is expected in the next 48 hours.If this is successful the team will then turn its attentions to the construction of two relief wells, the first of which will not be completed until mid-August.

However, the capping of the oil well is clearly not the entirety of BP's problems. It is expected to have cost the company already 3.5 billion US dollars and compensation claims could be up to ten times that figure. Indeed the suffering of the people in the Gulf will long outlive the capping of the leak. Tourists have been put off by the leak and the fishing industry devastated. All of this burdening an area still heavily burdened by Hurricane Katrina five years ago.

BP has attempted to speed up the sail of 20 billion dollars worth of assets to help to deal with the costs of cleaning up the Gulf. President Obama has called the news a positive sign but said that it was still early stages. Further comment is expected today.

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The Loosening Grip of the Catholic Church

2010-07-16T01:20:00.002+01:00

Today marked the publication of the Catholic Church's newest legislation in the fight against its ongoing fight with child sex abuse amongst the clergy. This story made headline news in Ireland, a country that has been rocked by the abuse scandal more than most

Let me explain something about the Church and the nation of Ireland. the Church has been the greatest political influence on this country from its creation in 1992 up until very recently. At the foundation of the State the church was in charge of most of the country's hospitals and education facilities (it remains in a majority today). It also lead to the banning of pornography, contraception and up until the 1970's had a "special position" in the very Constitution of Ireland. Indeed, up until the child sex abuse scandal broke (originally about 5 years ago) the idea of being an ethnically Irish person who questioned Catholic teaching was bizarre and even admonished by elderly people. now dissent rings out from many corners against the Church and the pain of abuse victims is strewn across every newspaper.

But not only in the jewel of the Vatican's crown has this scandal been hard felt. There was recent outrage in Belgium after the raids of Church's suspected of harbouring information on paedophiles by the police. However, it wasn't exactly handled well by the Vatican who called the raids "suprising and deplorable".

And thus we come to the point of this blog entry. People often express how out of touch the Church is with modern attitudes and sentiment and how deeply wrong it was for them to harbour paedophiiles in their midst and protect them. Shouldn't the Church as a hole realise that if they are to have only hope of rescuing their dwindling flock that they must be as contrite as possible in the face of some horrific charges.

Indeed today, with the release of this new legislation the Church has been attacked again saying that it does not go far enough. The Vatican has completely neglected in this legislation their responsibility to not only protect children from predators but also to alert authorities to those who engage in illegal activity in their ranks. This decree does not take care of this important issue.

How can the Church even begin to think it can make amends for the atrocities that many of the clergy have committed if it does not completely purge its ranks and offer the victims who have been tortured and suffered for so long its highest level of repentance. After all it has been getting us to repent for long enough.

Homosexuality in Africa

2010-07-14T15:24:00.001+01:00

Last week saw the passing of Ireland's civil partnership bill in the two houses of the Irish Parliament which will enact some of the same freedoms enjoyed by heterosexual couples to gay people in Irish law qhen it is enacted later this year or early 2011. Considering "buggery" was only decriminalised in this country in 1993 it is fair to say that this is a milestone for the country, still impacted heavily by the Catholic Church. However, on an EU basis Ireland ranks poorly when stood next to its Western European brethren and its clear that there is a long way to go.

As a gay man I am genuinely interested in gay rights worldwide and so last night's channel 4 documentary in its populr Dispatches series was a must for me. If you live in the UK or Ireland you may watch it on 4OD here, Africa's Last Taboo. The show follows an African journalist as he travels around what he refers to as his continent visiting Kenya, Uganda and Malawi. The programme states that over two thirds of African nations have laws condemning acts of homosexuality. 17 of these countries maintain laws passed down by the British in colonial times. The programme all in all was fascinating and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in LGBT rights. It spurred me into taking a closer look into the issue on the world's most conservative continent.

One of my most startling findings was the number of countries that have legalised lesbian sex but have maintained a ban on male consensual sex. Such countries include Kenya, Malawi, the Seychelles and Sierra Leone. I can only hypothesize as to the reasons for this. The lawmakers and figures in power in most African countries are heterosexual men. Perhaps they would be more sympathetic to the cause of lesbians. Ill let you hypothesize as to why. I have explained before about sexual myths in Africa to do with AIDS perhaps some of these same myths govern attitudes towards female sexuality.

Another personally shocking finding is that attitudes to homosexuality on an Africa wide basis are if anything becoming more and more conservative. For example, last year around the same time that is outlawed the death penalty the Government of Burundi re-criminalized homosexuality. Uganda has also had a furious debate in recent times about tightening its laws against people in consenting same-sex relationships and Swaziland is considering repealing the law legalizing lesbian relationships.

But while we may call these laws draconian and offensive to some Western sensibilities it cannot be said to fly in the face in the will of the African people. For example, here in Ireland there is a sizable majority in favour of homosexual marriage however, in 2010 a poll in Uganda sowed that just 11% found homosexuality morally acceptable. Even more staunch criticism was felt in Cameroon, Kenya and Zambian with just 2% of respondents believing homosexuality to be a morally acceptable practice. A similar figure (95%) was found in Tanzania. Even in Africa's most liberal nation when it comes to homosexual practice, South Africa, attacks against homosexual's are rampant especially so called "corrective rapes" on lesbians

What is the reason for these attitudes? Well some countries enforce stringent Shariah law, others are subject to major influence from American evangelical preachers who profess the benefits of old colonial laws. It is interesting so that many anti-gay rights groups then profess the evils of Western culture as influencing and infecting the minds of young Africans.

Whatever your own personal attitude to homosexuality is it cannot be ignored that the almost blanket silence of gay rights groups is deeply damaging to the continent. Ravaged by Aids the gay community largely remains uneducated about the dangers of unprotected sex. In the documentary we meet a young sex worker in Kenya who was outcasted from his family for being gay. His sister was also banished because her parents feared she may turn out the same way. The young man is forced into prostitution to support his sister as no-one else will have him because of his sexuality. However, many of his clients are supposed heterosexual men who lead double lives and have unprotected sex with him and then carry the infection back to their wives.

It has to be said that as the title of the programme suggests homosexuality really is Africa's last taboo. The lives of millions of gay African's are being thrown into turmoil by the conservative attitudes of people on the continent. Attacks on ordinary African citizens are absolutely common. In my opinion all life is precious. If two people find love whether gay or straight it should be celebrated. Africa needs education to overcome the AIDS epidemic. perhaps gay rights should be on the curriculum.

Horror in Uganda

2010-07-12T22:48:00.002+01:00

If you have read my post a couple of weeks ago about the recent presidential election in Somaliland, (if not catch it here) you will have heard about the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab. They are currently in control of a large portion of central and Southern Somalia including a large area of the Somali capital Mogadishu. Here it has imposed a form of Shariah law.

They are currently in the news due to last night's attacks on the Ugandan capital Kampala. There were three bomb blasts in the capital which coincided with the World Cup final. Two blasts were heard in the rugby centre where a group of fans were enjoying the match and a third was directed at an Ethiopian restaurant in a busy shopping district. The group is claiming responsibility for the attacks. 74 people including an Irish and American person, Ethiopian and Eritrean citizens along with a large group of Ugandans.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has declared a national week of mourning beginning Tuesday. All flags will be lowered to half mast. Barrack Obama has offered him support and assistance. The Somali President has condemned the attacks fervently saying the group should be "uprooted from the region". Also, the FIFA President Sepp Blatter has also weighed saying he was very saddened and touched by the attacks.

The Al-Shabaab group had been threatening the attacks Uganda and also the central African nation of Burundi, the reason was their pledge of troops to war-torn Somalia which currently has 6000 African Union troops stationed there. The group has also set up a web page accepting "congratulations" for their "blessed operations" in Uganda.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 4

2010-07-12T15:39:00.002+01:00

It has been a while since my last entry in this series and I apologise for past design quirks (which remain unfix-able despite my best efforts). So having looked at the studio's first 6 masterpieces we will now turn to look at Porco Rosso and Pom Poko, films with a pig and raccoon lead respectfully. If you've missed any of the other parts of this feature you can find links at the bottom of this post.

1992-Porco Rosso

Porco Rosso could be described as a labour of love for Hayao Miyazaki, its creator and director. The film is interesting in that it has a clearly defined historical and geographical setting. It is set between the two World Wars in a town probably near to Fiume (a former independent state before its annexation back to Italy).

The film tells the story of Porco Rosso a man who has been cursed to live his life as a pig. He was a successful fighter pilot in the Italian air force before giving it up to become a bounty hunter. We join Porco at a point of turmoil in his life. He is beset by fascists wanting his blood, pirates wanting revenge and a jealous rival for the affections of his true love Gina.

The film thematically is one of Miyazaki's most intentionally political. Numerous times in the film does Porco Rosso proclaim his anti-fascist sentiments in line with the production of an increasingly fascist world around him. For my money, the characters in Porco Rosso are some of the director's most fleshed out and vivid, providing a great insight into the depth of feeling in Europe at that time. Also it of course has a romantic dimension, although it certainly doesn't manopolise the film in any way.

Porco Rosso combines Miyazaki's duel loves of Italy and aviation in a film that manages to appeal to a wide range of viewers. However , the film may be a bit to slow paced for the younger audience who it may be better to play Totoro for in another. It is also a film that rewards repeat visitors more than many others in the Ghibli repertoire.

1994-Pom Poko

Pom Poko is a showcase of the animation and genius of isao Takahata. The film had its Japanese theatrical release in 1994. It was Takahata's third release for the studio and entirely a creation of his own mind.

The film deals with the distruction of the Tokyo habitat of the Japanese native tanooki or "raccoon dog" population. It draws heavily on Japanese folklore depicting the animals as fun loving and mischievous with the power to somehow change form into whatever they so wish. Together the animals must find a way of stopping the logging companies from destroying their home in the face of rapid suburban sprawl in Tokyo.

The principal themes in this film are nature and the environment. Takahata has no qualms in lingering on people scenes of nature that he has created in the film to show what we lose when we let the beauty of nature be destroyed for our comfort.

Trivia: The film features appearances by Totoro, Kiki, Taeto from Only Yesterday and Porco Rosso. In Japanese a Pompoko (or Ponpoko) is a tanooki drum whereby the animal would inflate its belly or testicles and bang to scare away enemies. The film is set in a real Japanese development project known as the Tama New Town, built in the 1960s it is the largest of its kind in Japan.

Pom Poko joins Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies as some of my favourite movies in the incredible Ghibli catalogue. The film has a startling environmental message with a strong impact but yet manages to be drenched in humour and entertain for all of its two hour run time. An unmissable and brilliant masterpiece of animation Takahata proves again that he has no business in the shadow of Miyazaki.

And so that concludes part four. Here are the links to the first three parts. Expect part 5 later in the week.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 1
Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 2
Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 3

Leave a comment below. Tell me what you think of the series or the films. Always delighted to hear form you.

Weekend Randomness: Dublin on its Knees

2010-07-11T18:02:00.002+01:00

I thought I should post this story because given the international readership of this blog it is unlikely that anyone outside of the Emerald Isle (ie Ireland) will ever hear about it. Of course being the blogger that I am and covering the type of material that I do I love anything with the faintest whiff of news or current affairs about it.

However, one major criteria for this is that it must not be Irish. Now this has nothing to do with the quality of Irish broadcasting. In fact for the money it receives i would be willing to bet the Irish state broadcaster does a fine job when compared to its international counterparts. Indeed for sports coverage Irish pundits are lauded in all major disciplines for being much much stronger than their British counterparts. The sole reason is that next to nothing ever happens in this country. That was until yesterday, Thursday the 8th of July.2010.

This is an occasion so monumental that you will be able to walk up to anyone on any street in the nation's capital and ask them, where were you when the penguin was stolen? Yes, just yesterday at 8:30 A.M (30 minutes before opening time) ,three young rapscallions (my word,not a quote) snook into our country's only zoo and stole a ten year old female penguin called Kelli.

The animal was found on a small street on the North inner city by the Gardai (Irish police) later that same day. The animal, like all animals at the zoo were micro chipped for tracking purposes. A vet examined the animal and stated it was completely unharmed. The zoo has said that the incident 'is not frivolous and is certainly not something amusing'.

While I understand how stressful this would be for zoo staff and I would be one of the first to be in uproar if the animal was harmed but for some reason I can't help but walk around with a smile on my face today. It might have something to do with how easy I thought it would have been to steal a one of the birds the last time I was at the zoo.

*Apologies. Due to a scheduling issue this post is late in being published. It had originally been scheduled to be published on Friday.

Solar Powered Plane in Successful Test Flight

2010-07-08T17:48:00.000+01:00

In what the team are describing as a "milestone" for solar powered air transport a plane landed near the Swiss capital Berne this morning at 7am GMT after a 26 hour flight time. The plane had taken off from the same the same airport at 5 GMT, the previous day.

This is the longest length of time a plane powered by solar energy has stayed airborne for and reaching an altitude of 8,700m it is also the highest altitude reached by any such aircraft. The team responsible for the feat is called Solar Impulse and one of the team's co-founders is Bertrand Piccard who achieved the world's first circumnavigation of the globe in a balloon in 1999.

The purpose of the mission was to see if a plane could possibly fly through the night. The team's next goal is to traverse the Atlantic in a new improved prototype. They hope to complete a circumnavigation of the globe in one of the crafts in 2013. The team aren't hoping for a replacement of standard airplanes with solar paneled ones anytime soon, instead they are trying to highlight the various relevant and beneficial uses of renewable energy sources.

What do you think? Can you envisage a future of solar driven aircraft? Leave a comment below.

Ban on Burqa in France?

2010-07-07T01:53:00.002+01:00

Today the French Government began a debate on the banning of Muslim-garments which cover a woman's face or body. Such garments include the Burqa, which covers a woman's entire body and face and the niqab, which covers the face and neck. The vote in the French Parliament was called after the French Council of Ministers approved the measure in May.

This is only one step in a process that has been taking place over the course of the past year when a group of lawmakers recommended the ban and in May they passed a non-binding resolution which noted the full face veil was entirely contrary to the French Constitution.
The law envisions a 150 euro fine for those who are caught voluntarily wearing a face covering veil. This could either be replaced by a citizenship course or supported by it. The fine for enforcing the wearing of such a veil is a maximum of 15,000 euros or a year in prison.

While the Government doesn't keep its own official statistics on the number of Muslims in the country unofficial figures place the number at 3.5 million or 6 percent of the population.

While the ban is absolutely backed by the Government who dubbed the dress "a new form of enslavement which the Republic cannot tolerate on its soil" some major discontent has been voiced. Amnesty International has spoken out about the proposed ban and the French Council of State has stated that it may violate both the international charter of human rights and also the Constitution of the Republic.

However, another European country is on the way to becoming the first in the continent to instigate a nationwide ban on the burqa and other forms of Muslim dress. That country is Belgium. The proposition has already been carried in the lower house of the Parliament and is awaiting ratification from a vote in the upper house. I, for one hope that they see sense.

Mainland Western Europe has always been lauded by liberals as a region that celebrates equality and protects human rights. Indeed, many people on this reserved and conservative island look to our more cosmopolitan European brethren in envy.

However, these measures are an affront to the human rights which the EU professes to protect. If I as a man decided to walk out of my house wearing a burqa tomorrow I am clearly not doing so because I am a dominated women. I do it because it is my right as an equal member of a free and democratic society. If we start to limit these freedoms in any way then we are taking a step backwards. Forcing women to disown an item of clothing she has chosen to wear is clearly a sign of a state whereby the Government is insecure and controlling. I am not one for conspiracy theories at all but this is one of the most dangerous and frightening developments in European politics in recent years.

I'd love to hear what you guys think. Drop a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Pointless Presidency

2010-07-05T16:41:00.000+01:00

Today will mark the ascension to power of the next routinely elected Polish after the death of the country's last President in a plane crash on April 10th last. The winner with 95 percent of the votes counted is expected to be Bronislaw Komorowski, the man who has acted as interim President for the past couple of months.
While reading the story it got me wondering about the nature of Presidency in some countries. The role of the Irish President and Polish President are similar in nature. There duty is to act as a representative of the State abroad but both importantly have the power to veto certain laws they find to be unconstitutional pending supreme court review. However, while this seems significant in the 13 years that our President Mary Mc Aleese has been in power she has done this just once. No Irish president has ever dissolved Government. It begs the question, what is the point?

Every time I see an a-political head of state I cant help wonder how our taxes are wasted paying for the red carpet they have to walk on, clothes they wear, giant house they live in and trips across the globe. Indeed, while Ireland may waste money it doesn't have the concept of the British monarchy and the enormous sums plunged into their estates all over the United Kingdom each year. Couldn't we simply have a Government Minister who would be responsible for the representation of our nations abroad.

Currently, in Ireland we are debating abolishing our second parliamentary house, the Senate, asserting it is an unnecessary waste of money. However, before such a drastic step as this is taken would we not see fit to abolish the blatant money squandering role of a ceremonial President. It would appear however, that in these matters I am in fact in the minority in my country.

What is your opinion? What are the benefits of a non partisan head of State? Leave a comment and I'll be sure to get back to you.

Google V China Continues

2010-07-04T22:48:00.000+01:00

In January of this year the world's most populous country came to blows with the world's most popular superpower, online behemoth, Google. The conflict originated over the Chinese Government's attempt to hack into G-mail accounts belonging to human rights workers in the country. The search engine also took issue with China's censorship of certain content online such as the Tienanmen Square massacre.

While the story did make headlines across the world and the search engine operators were lauded for not bowing to the pressure of the rising superpower to heavily censor its results. Since January Google.cn has remained accessible from the Chinese mainland however, beginning March 22nd users of Google in China were redirected to google.com.hk where users could attain entirely uncensored search results.
It seems as though that the war is finally about to end with Google's Internet Content Provider's license coming under review on the 26th of June. The technology giant however submitted its proposals to the authorities late. The result of the review is expected soon.

The search engine proposes making google.cn a landing page with a re-direct to either the Chinese Government approved search engine results or a linking to google.com.hk which will continue, of course, to provide uncensored results.

However, China is not the only place in which Google is forced to limit the content of its search results. In Germany, France and Poland it is forbidden to publish material denying the Holocaust so Google's regional sites don't publish such material in these nations. In Turkey Google is prohibited from publishing material said to mock "Turkishness" . Media censorship is still an issue in our modern free speaking society.

Me and Studio Ghibli:Part 3

2010-07-03T01:47:00.002+01:00

As promised, here is part three of my Studio Ghibli feature. If you need to catch up here is the link to part one (covering Naussica and Laputa) and here is part two (where I write about Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbour Totoro). Today I have two more delectible morsels of Ghibli magic.

1989-Kiki's Delivery Service

Released in Japanese cinemas on the 29th of July Kiki's Delivery Service is Miyazaki's second children's film and as Totoro is completely his own work, written and directed by the Anime genius.

The film follows the story of 13 year old witch Kiki and her black cat Jiji as they begin their witches training (which simply involves living away from home for a time) in the seaside town of Koriko. Kiki finds a job operating delivery service and settles in to life in the town. As she does, she begins contending with the day-to-day problems of adolescence.

Kiki, of course like most Miyazaki works features a female lead. the reason for this is that Miyazaki felt if he was to write about boys he would be too swayed by his own personal experiences of childhood or those from watching his son Goro. It differs from Totoro in that it has a clear and linear plot and thematically it doesn't dwell as much on the theme of child like imagination. Instead, it focuses on the journey between childhood and adolescence and how we deal with the problems put in front of us.

Trivia: Kiki also won the Animage Anime Grand Prix, in 1989. The town of Koriko is based on Visby in Sweden according to Miyazaki. Also, interestingly the voice of Jiji is a woman in the Japanese version but a man in the American dub. Many extra lines of dialogue for the cat were added in the English version also. Importantly in the English version Kiki regains the abillity to speak to her cat at the film's end. However, at the end of the original this does not happen. The film was the studio's first major success and the highest grossing film in Japan in 1989. Finally, upon its release in American cinemas some conservative Christian groups boycotted the film due to its themes of witchcraft.

1991-Only Yesterday

Released in Japan on July 20th 1991 Only Yesterday is one of the studio's least known works as it lacks an English dub. This is unfortunate as people are missing out on a work of startlingly beautiful nostalgia directed by Isao Takahata.

Taeko is a 27 year old, single, office worker tired of life in Tokyo. She decides to take a break and heads to the countryside, to her sister's in-laws, where she helps out with the harvest. On her way, via train, she begins to reminisce about her childhood in Tokyo. The memories influence her thoughts as an adult as she ponders the hopes and dreams she had as a child.

Only Yesterday deals with maturity, asking such questions as how do we change as we grow? Is it possible for us to lose ourselves in the struggles of daily life? It asks the viewer to question themselves, to ask if adults always have the right idea. Do we have a responsibility to remain true to ourselves?

Only Yesterday is the only film in the list of Studio Ghibli theatrical releases not to be released on the United States, hence the lack of an English dub. Some speculate it is to due with public bath scenes and conversations about menstruation. However, if you are ever in the UK or Ireland I strongly urge you to invest in the subtitled release by optimum. What you will get is a brilliant insight into the honest workings of the human mind that few people can portray as skillfully as Isao Takahata.

Do as we Say and as we Do

2010-07-02T22:57:00.000+01:00

Site Note: Hey again guys. I'm back home from my couple of days at the beautiful house of a great friend so this post will be out live. I apologise for some of the recent quality issues with some of my posts. They have been edited. But now back to the news

As a very willing student of socio-linguistics the story I am writing about today is something somewhat close to my heart.The persecution of people and discrimination against certain languages is something that I am must staunchly against.

According to our lecturer it was the policy of the former Republican administration to ensure the workplace remained a place of English only. The treatment of four Philipino nurses in Baltimore. The group of 4 allege that the sole reason for their April 16th was the that they were heard speaking in their native Tagalog tongue while on a lunch break in the ER in which they were working.

This particular hospital made its staff sign its "Emergency Department Expectations" which laid down guidelines that staff should only speak English while on duty. While it is impossible to argue against the use of a standard language in emergency and moments of critical communicative importance, forcing a group to speak in a language that they don't want do in a leisurely context is surely ( and I use the phrase in full knowledge of how irritating and stupid it is) anti-American.

America is famed as the nation where the constitution stands alongside the Bible in people's hearts and free speech is protected like it was Middle Eastern oil. So isn't forbidding people to express themselves in a completely legal manner of their choosing the ultimate indictment of the principle Americans are said to hold so dear. A complaint on the nurses behalf has been lodged by the Migrant Heritage Commission to the Us Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of the fired nurses.

South Africa: Doctor Invents New Condom

2010-07-01T18:00:00.005+01:00

While this is a news story that may have been doing the rounds for quite some time now, I wanted to post about it giving the content of my recent blog post about troubles such as rape in South Africa.The condom was invented by Sonnet Ahlers after her harrowing experiences dealing with rape victims in her native country.

The condom has been in existence since 2005. However, it has been redesigned in 2009 and made big waves in the media again of late with the inventors plans to distribute 30,000 of the invention to women in the lead up to the World Cup. She has sacrificed a lot to get to where she is today having sold her car and houses in order to fund the project. She hopes that when on sale in the future the device will cost just $2.
How does it work. the woman inserts the condom like a tampon. It has inward leaning spikes in it that are activated when the man inserts his penis.When he pulls out the spikes attach to him and cannot be removed until he has surgery. This of course then acts as proof that the rape has taken place and he can be suitably imprisoned as a result.

However the condom has drawn severe criticism and many of the women who argue against its use make valid points. Some believe that the condom is nothing short of a modern day chastity belt and subjects women to psychological trauma by making them paranoid and fearful. It also puts the pressure of rape prevention on the woman's shoulders again, instead of where it should be i.e. convincing men not to rape. Also, it is argued that the man would possibly become more violent if he is subjected to the pain of this. However the doctor has argued that a man who has this stuck to them will be unable to urinate or even walk, giving the victim time to escape.

No one could argue that this is an ideal solution to a terrible problem. Its inventor has responded to claims that the device is medieval by saying its a medieval solution to a medieval problem. Indeed many of the women who arguing against its use report for American and British newspapers talking about how women are blamed for dressing provocatively and how the onus is always on them in the fight against rape. All of this is indeed true and indeed wrong.

However, as someone who has looked into rape statistics in South Africa it would be difficult to argue against anything that would deter would be rapists. A rape takes place in South Africa every 26 seconds and a women born there is more likely to be raped than learn to read. These statistics make for shocking reading and it is clear that rape is at pandemic proportions in South Africa. I firmly believe that this device may have the power to change that and even though the root cause will remain it has the power to end the pain and suffering of a nation who's women have been humiliated and tortured for far too long.

Somali Separatist Ambitions.

2010-06-30T18:00:00.003+01:00

In my daily scour of the internet for international news a story that really caught my eye was the recent elections in the self Governing Somalian province of Somaliland.

Voters all over the province headed to the polls on Saturday to democratically elect their new President. Over 1 million citizens were on the electoral register in the region of more than 3.5 million. The elections were marred by security threats from the Al Qaeda inspired Shebab group which has been responsable for major troubles in the rest of the country over the past few years.
The Shebab leader has called democracy the "Devil's Principles" and promised the people of Somaliland would "face the consequences for going to the polls". The group is unhappy with Somaliland's strong ties to Ethiopia and their autonomy is a severe threat to Shebab's vision of a united Somalia.

This threat to electoral freedom led to the enforcement of rather strict security measures. The borders were completely shut down and mass transport across the country was also prohibited for the day without special permits, pretty much reserved to those on the electoral commission. Fortunately however, there have been no reports of violence.

The people of Somaliland hope that these free and democratic elections will strengthen their case for international recognition as a country which so far has not been forthcoming. The country established itself as a self declared Republic in 1991 after the fall off the central Somalian Government in 1991. It covers a similar region to the former British colony in Somalia. Since then the region has enjoyed relative peace in comparison to its troubled surrounding neighbours.

While the main Somali Government wishes for a re-unified Somalia it did congratulate the Somaliland people on holding peaceful and free elections. And with the world refusing to acknowledge the state's independence as its own state it seems as though the Somaliland people may continue to live in limbo.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 2

2010-06-29T18:00:00.012+01:00

If you missed part one of my Me and Studio Ghibli series you can catch up at the link provided. Today, for part two, I move onto two film's that could not be more different in tone. Both were released in 1988 astonishingly as a double feature. They are Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbour Totoro.

1988- Grave of the Fireflies
The first film of Isao Takahata to be released by the studio and most certainly one of his most celebrated. The film is based on a popular semi-autobiography by Akiyuki Nosaka, of the same name. I have already posted on the film. Catch it in my World Cinema link at the end of the post. But for the continuity of the series I shall continue.

The plot follows brother and sister Seita and Setsuko in the midst of World War 2 in Japan. It deals with the airs near insurmountable struggles, living with a cruel Aunt and fending for themselves in a world where people can't afford to care.

Takahata's work tends to ground itself more firmly in emotion than much of Miyazaki's output and it would be fair to say that Grave of the Fireflies is an incredible depiction of humanity, certainly the most depressing picture I've ever seen, animated or otherwise. I would also state the film has a noticeable anti-war message but remains impartial to any particular faction. Chicago Time's popular critic Roger Ebert has stated the film "belongs on any list of the greatest war movies ever made".

Trivia time. The fruit drops that play a huge role in the symbolism and plot of the film are still on sale in Japan today. Also, a live action version of Grave of the Fireflies was released in Japan in 2008 with a run time of 148 minutes, a full hour longer than the animated piece. Finally for North American readers if you are looking for a DVD version you will find that it is the only one in the collection (currently on sale in the States) that is not distributed by Disney.

A powerhouse of emotion and heart, Grave of the Fireflies is not only one of my favourite Ghibli films of all time I rank it as one of the finest works cinema has ever produced.

1988- My Neighbour Totoro
The title character from My Neighbour Totoro is easily one of the company' most recognisable characters. he even is the company's representative in their official logo pictured above. The film is entirely, again, the creation of Hayao Miyazaki.

The plot follows the Kusakabe family of a university professor and his two children Mei and Satsuki (approx 4 and 10 years old) who move to the rural countryside of Japan to be closer to the hospital where their wife and mother is in hospital for an unexplained illness. There the two girls come in contact with the title character and adventure ensues.

Totoro is a movie that revels in the childlike world of imagination and really this is the films central theme. Miyazaki nails that childlike innocence in a way that will leave a smile on the face of even the most heartless viewer. the catbus is a sight that must simply be seen to be believed. Indeed,
the atmosphere in the preceding scene is simply magical.While the almost non-existant plat breezes past the viewer the films stunning art and sheer depth of imagination is what carries the viewer for the film's 86 minute runtime.

The combination at box office of two startlingly different movies was doomed to failure. I guess we could speculate that families were simply put off by the idea of subjecting their children to a film as grim as Takahata's masterpiece. However, sales of Totoro merchandise which continue to this day have meant that the character was a successful production for the company.

Trivia: Totoro has an asteroid named after him. The character has also appeared in Comedy Central's Drawn Together and South Park along with Pixar's upcoming Toy Story 3. The character also appears in other Ghibli films such as Kiki, Pom Poko and Whisper of the Heart. The names of the two characters Mei and Setsuki originate from the Japanese pronunciations of the month of Mei. And Totoro's name actually comes from Mei mispronouncing the Japanese for troll tororu.

Part 3 is coming up later in the week. If you want to see more of my thoughts on Grave of the Fireflies follow the link labeled Me and World Cinema.

Gay Cinema
Me and World Cinema

I'd love to hear from you and your experiences with Studio Ghibli. I promise to get back to you ASAP. Until then stay safe. Stay happy.

Status Update

2010-06-29T00:58:00.000+01:00

Hey guys. Just a quick note to say I'll be heading down the country for the next couple of days to catch up with some friends so I'll be away from the site until at least Friday. But as I have become a little more blogger savy I have discovered the miracle of automatic post scheduling so you shall enjoy/endure daily posts in my absence.

Also Id love to hear from any ofyou with any opinions on any of my posts, what you want to hear about or what I'm doing wrong. Leave me a comment and I shall reply to you in the fullness of soonity. Until I return, stay safe and happy:)

The G20 Guide

2010-06-27T22:41:00.000+01:00

In the past few days the G-20 summit has been taking place in Toronto, Canada. It is a meeting of the Finance Ministers and central bank Governors of 19 prominent world Economies plus the EU. Of course many heads of State also attend the Summit which has grown is status significantly in the past few years.They have been held bi-annually. However, 2011 they are scheduled to be convened on an annual basis. The next meeting of the group will take place in South Korea in November. The first meeting of the group took place in 1999. Although some members such as the UK, France and Italy are represented as part of the EU contingent they do also send their own contingents to the meetings.

So what exactly does the G-20 do? The goal of the group of 20 is to reflect on issues of importance to the global economy. It differs from the G-8 in two main ways. Firstly, it's wider membership allows it to focus to a greater extent on the economies of developing economies. Also, unlike the G8, its doesn't seek consensus on issues, it is simply a forum for debate.

And what have the major developments of this particular summit been? Well, that is difficult to pinpoint. The leaders seem to be nearing a deal to half budget deficits over the next three years. However, their is widespread disagreement about how this should be done. Euro zone countries believe swift expenditure cuts are required in the wake of a weakening currency where as developing countries seek to limit these measures which they believe will effect there export based economies. As regards other issues such as Iran and North Korea, they were reserved for the G8.

Where the G-20 goes protests follow. Protests against globalisation are common at any major meeting of international leaders and Toronto is certainly no exception. While these demonstrations remained largely peaceful, there has been more than 400 arrests. At least two patrol cars have been burned out in what police have declared were the most destructive riots ever on the city's streets. Last year in London there was widespread outrage following the death of a man after the G20 Summit held there. It prompted debate about the use of excessive force by police in clashes with protesters. Undoubtedly the issue is something that will need to be investigated in the future once again.

You got News in my Opinion

2010-06-27T03:13:00.000+01:00

There are many things about America that perplex me entirely. One, is how it matters hugely how much of a God fearing man a President is. I can safely declare now that if our own Prime Minister was to proclaim " God bless you and God bless Ireland", he would most certainly be laughed at by all of those listening to his speech.

Thirdly, how the largest economy in the world has only recently passed any form of universal healthcare is completely beyond the imagination of those of us in Ireland and the UK at least. The fact it has constantly faced controversy is even more unimaginable.However, as someone with a mild interest in journalism the state of journalism in America is totally shocking for me.

One of the major laws in broadcasting in Irish and British society (I mention Britain because Ireland receives a lot of UK based media also) is impartiality. The BCI (Broadcasting commission of Ireland enforces strict content laws on the broadcasting of any material on TV which may be deemed to be in support of any political organisation. It also bans product placement. For example, recently on Ireland's highest rated talk show The Late Late Show an interview with Gabriel Byrne was broadcast LIVE in which he made a short endorsement for a candidate in the local elections. The broadcasting channel has since faced disciplinary action for not reproaching the guest and pointing out the many other available candidates on the ballot. Also if you watch American idol in America you will probably notice the judges drinking from cups emblazoned with the coca cola logo. In Ireland these are shown blurred.

While opinion is acceptable in papers and print media, in this country televised news and current affairs programming must remain completely impartial. That is why watching American televised news is honestly an extraordinary event. And no network is more obviously bias than the fox network. It appears to me (and of course this blog contains nothing but opinion) that fox is nothing more than a propaganda group for the Republican party. Their Fox News Channel includes notable Republican mouthpieces Bill O' Reily, Sean Hannity and Glen Beck with daily shows spouting the ills of progressivism and the far left (even "Communist") Obama administration. Take a look at the following video made by the people at http://foxattacks.com/

So, some of you must be thinking aren't people wise enough to know that what they are hearing is opinion and not fact. Sure, some can but if you grow up in a household where people believe and support the Fox news message and you grow up with that same rhetoric shoved down your throat as news then surely some of it will stick.

I wrote an opinion based blog on international news on the internet. I never profess for it to be anything other than it is. I never claim to be "Fair and Balanced" and I don't believe that others should have the right to masquerade their own opinions as news to an audience of millions across America. The news is a place for facts not a political platform to propagate the ideas of single men or women no better than us or each other.

Me and Studio Ghibli

2010-06-26T21:53:00.002+01:00

I figured its been a good few days since my last post unrelated to current affairs so I decided that Id write about something close to my heart, the movies of Studio Ghibli. This brilliant animation studio was founded in June 1985 by the studio's two current major directors, Hayao Miyazaki and the less celebrated but certainly no lesser genius, Isao Takahata. Over the course of the next couple of weeks I will be running a series of blog posts covering all of the studio's breathtaking catalog of releases over the past twenty five years. I hope that my profiling each of the films gives you an insight into both my own personality and the magic of the worlds greatest animation studio (in my opinion : ) ).

1984-Nausicaa Of the Valley of the Wind

Technically released before the foundation of the studio, you will see it included in DVD collections of the studio's works as it is essentially what led to the two directors coming together to establish the animation behemoth.

Nausicaa was directed by Hayao Miyazaki and originated from a manga (comic) series of the same name, that the director had written between February 1982 and March 1984. The film is set 1,000 years in the future. Most of the world was destroyed in the "Seven Days of Fire" that ravaged the earth and left only pockets of humans left in scattered lands across the world. One such, group live in the Valley of the Wind bordered by the Toxic Jungle, residue of the horrific enviromental disaster that ravaged the earth's ecosystem.

The film deals with humanities frayed and often destructive relationship with nature. In this sense it is typical of much of Miyazaki's output. The main character is often heavily involved with the world of nature (Princess Mononoke, Ponyo) as Nausicaa is here and faces a struggle from those who try to abuse it.

Nausicaa was released in the 1980's in North America as Warriors of the Wind. Most of the characters were renamed, 30 minutes of footage was removed and the voice actors weren't even informed of the film's content. Miyazaki has asked that this version by forgotten about and since its release the studio has demanded a no cuts policy for international distribution to unsure events like this are not repeated. Disney released a re-dubbed version in 2005, more faithful to the original.

Music from Nausicaa was used in the 1994 Winter Olympics by Chen Lu who won Bronze. The film was also the recipient of the 1984 Animage Anime Grand Prix. There are also two Japanese only videogames based on the film, the only two videogames based on a Miyazaki property.

Nausicaa is an amazing achievement of both fantasy storytelling and artistic achievement, with a message that is universally salient and perhaps more relevant and powerful now than when it was written. One of the brightest gems in the Ghibli crown.

1986- Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Released in Japan in 1986, this is the first film released under the Studio Ghibli moniker and it is also the creation of Hayao Miyazaki. The name Laputa comes from Johnathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels which itself featured a floating castle of the same name.

The plot is probably the most traditional of all Miyazaki's films. The Sky Pirates attempt to kidnap Sheeta the holder of an ancient star pendant. The burden to rescue her falls on Pazu, a young man of similar age too Sheeta. Ill let you fill in the rest.

In the eighties Miyazaki spent a lot of time in London with coal mining strikers. It appears to many that this influence can be seen in the setting in Laputa which is far more industrialised than Miyazaki's other films. Also unlike Miyazaki's other works the central character is male in Pazu. Usually in Miyazaki works it is a female lead who experiences powerful growth through adversity. However Sheeta is relegated to damsel in distress status here.

Castle in the Sky is Miyazaki's second great epic piece of fantasy. It is also a brilliant display of incredible animation (that admittedly hasn't transferred as well as some of the other early Ghibli films) and another masterful score composed by Joe Hisaishi who works on all Miyazakis films. The film has a pretty lengthy run-time but the pace is a lot quicker than much of the studio's output and it probably caters to the stereotypical anime fan more than any other.

Laputa was renamed for international distribution in many territories as it can be translated as whore or bitch in Spanish and is similar to pute in French. Also in Disney's dub, as has been done with other Ghibli movies, more crowd noise was added to the background in various scenes and Hisaishi was asked to lengthen the score and support an orchestra as this was expected of Western audiences. It too has one the Animage Anime Grand Prix a testament to its quality (1986).

Check back soon for part two of my Studio Ghibli series. If you found it interesting you may want to take a look at these other links to my opinions on some other great cinematic treats.
Gay Cinema
Me and World Cinema

Women in Politics

2010-06-24T18:08:00.108+01:00

One of the major current international stories is the resignation of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The resignation seemed to come as a shock to all. Indeed, anyone in a failing European economy is likely to be aware of the mass emigration to the supposed greener pastures of Australia. And while the country has of course not been immune from the recession the economy is unlikely to continue to suffer for as long as its European counterparts.

But the fact remains, after a number of notable U-turns particularly on climate change, Welsh born Julia Gillard has emerged as the Labor Party's new leader after the party voted to oust their Prime Minister of 3 years. It appears to have been a good decision. Gillard is clear favourite in the polls to keep her position at the time of the country's next general election. It would make her one of the few female leaders of Goverment in our world. So I thought for today's post Id take a look at the role of women in politics worldwide and why so few of them rise to the highest echelon in their chosen careers.

Now I could tell you that there are currently 29 heads of State according to the site Guide to Women Leaders.com. However this significant figure would be thoroughly misleading in my opinion. For example, this list includes the President of my own country Ireland, Mary Mc Aleese. Her job is to travel the world and represent Ireland abroad. She also has the power to sign bills into law. However, her role is as completely inrelated to politics as another woman on the list, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain. So therefore I cannot truely profess to believe that the sight of our President shaking hands with rugby players before a big game and traveling the world in an expensive jet will inspire the women of Ireland to take a stance on political issues.

So I looked solely at the idea of women as heads of Government. Currently, there are 11 women serving in this post, 5 of whom were elected in the last 3 months. The longest serbing female head of Government is Angela Merkel of Germany. A year later Africa got its first ever elected female leader in Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia. Of course the statistics highlight the gross lack of female political leaders.

Of all of the worlds nations it seems as though it is Scandinavia who is blazing the trail for the world to follow. Currently in both Finland and beleaguered Iceland women serve as head of Government. In 1995 Sweden became the worlds first country to have equal amounts of women and men in ministerial posts and it has since gone on to have a majority female cabinet. In 2005 4 of the top 5 spots on the list of percentages of women in Parliament were taken by Scandinavian states. Interestingly, the country that topped the list and remains so to this day is in fact Rwanda.

But is it that women simply aren't as engaged with politics as their male counterparts or do does the tide of sexism prevent them from ever reaching positions of meaningful power. I believe one feeds into the other.

Remember the last Presidential elections when Hilary Clinton was running for Democratic nominee and Palin was running for Republican Vice President on John MC Cain's ticket. We saw Clinton being derided oftentimes for being overly masculine and not showing enough emotion. Remember when she had that teary moment in the run up to the caucases in New Hampshire or Iowa (cant remember) and her poll ratings spiked. Contrast this to the criticisms of Sarah Palin. She was labled as too feminie weak in her stances and lacking the strength and grit (amongst natural ability or a hint of intelligence) necessary to be President.

So what can be gleamed from all of this. Well, all around the globe in places like Liberia, Australia, Iceland, Bangladesh and now Australia women hold meaningful positions of power but yet remain firmly in the minority. How can this issue be resolved. Well, the times are indeed changing and female representation becomes greater with each passing decade and as more and more women join the fold more will be inspired to do so. Just like all discrimination, attitudes will only change with exposure. For those of us who already pursue equality we may only hope the changing of the tide isn't to far away.

Eritrea:Forgotten World

2010-06-24T04:13:00.002+01:00

Foreign Policy, a prominent US magazine, has published a list of its 23 most tyrannical dictators in ranked order. The list is an eye opening one, perhaps shining a light on the ignorance of myself in the sheer number of dictators still in power across the world. While I don't much approve of ranking the inherent evilness of people like Kim-Jung Il and Robert Mugabe and the obvious blurring of the definition of dictator in the article, I have to say it has given me some food for thought.

Perhaps like I said it is just my ignorance but this list has made me wonder how and why certain countries gain prominence in the media while others fail to do so. For example, number one on this list is Kim Jong Il undoubtedly a tyrant who has crippled his country's economy and subjected his people to years of famine and his most irrational behavior and threat of developing nuclear arms surely make his behaviour newsworthy, which also accounts for the inclusion of the Iranian leader (his Israeli hatred the icing on the cake in America).

However, how many people out there are aware of the Eritrean dictator Isaias Afwerki? I didn't know his name before reading the article. He takes his place at number 6 on the list after such names as Kim Jung il, Robert Mugabe and Than Shwe of Burma. Why do I highlight him? I shall explain.

Acouple of months ago myself and my brother, a local journalist, were reading the latest press freedom index. What country ranked in last place? Indeed, it was Eritrea. So it caused me to do a little bit more digging as my knowledge of the place was the fact that it was a nation bordering Ethiopia in East Africa.

My research thought me that Eritrea was established in 1993, formerly part of Ethiopia itself. The country was run by a preliminary Government formed from the People's Front for Democracy and Justice. This transitional Government still exists in Eritrea today. The constitution was ratified in 1997 but failed to come into effect pending presidential and parliamentary elections. These were scheduled for 2001 although they have now been delayed indefinitely. Afwerki has ensured the county's sole legal party is his own and has enforced a policy whereby free and independent media has been entirely and brutally outlawed.

The country has large numbers of Muslims and Christians. It has had a strained relationship with the US. At times the two have closely co-operated in the war on terror but recently Hilary has called the nation out as supplying weapons to the Somalian rebels leading to an imposition of sanctions on the nation by the UN.

The nation remains locked in a dispute with its Ethiopian neighbour about the undemarcated border between the two nations. It is also involved in a similar border conflict with Sudan adn there was a brief war between Eritrea and Yeman in 1996 over the Hanish Islands. The two nations remain wary of each other and the Afwerki still enforces a policy of compulsary and undefined period of military service

So that is a brief description of a country crippled by the rule of a cruel dictator. Not only is Eritrea next to ignored in international media it seems that it is all but ignored many major international powers. So the question remains what exactly makes a dictator newsworthy? Where people are suffering the international community has a responsibility to step in regardless of the charisma or humour of the enemy.

To find out who rounds out the rest of the list of dictators follow the link. Foreign Policy List

Fury in France

2010-06-23T04:32:00.001+01:00

I rarely, if ever take more than the slightest of interest in any soccer tournament, including the World Cup. However, I am always keenly interested in the relationship between society at large and sport. How, for example when the major debate of China's controversial choice as host nation of the Olympics and the talk of boycotting the games based on whether or not sports and politics a should be linked. Personally I was all for the boycott. Sure the athletes pour their heart and soul into training but many Tibetans have staked their lives on the pursuit of freedom. I recognise the capacity of sport to heal and unify (North and South Korea marching under one flag in previous Olympic games) but I also recognise how it can be used as a political tool and should therefore not be immune to political ramifications.

Although the topic I am talking about today is a far cry from the gravity of the 2008 situation in Beijing it does show how sport can capture the imagination of an entire nation and even lead to the political involvement of major leaders. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few days you will no doubt have heard about the abuse given by France's Nicholas Anelka to his team's manager during their clash with Mexico on Saturday. For those who have in fact being just that, I will provide a lose translation. Anelka told his manager after being replaced to " Go f*** yourself, you son of a b****." And thus the escalation of the story began.
So after these comments being reported to the FFF (French Football Federation) Anelka was removed from the team ( a very rare occurrence in itself). However, what happened the following day led to outrage across France with the French team refusing to train and walking off the pitch in protest at the sending home of Anelka.

Here is where things get interesting. Today after being beaten 2-0 by South Africa the 1998 champions will be flying home in disgrace after the FFF took the step of bumping them down to economy class after flying them over in style in first. The debacle even resulted in intervention by Nicholas Sarkozy ordering his Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot to speak to the players. According to French news network France 24 her comments, claiming the French people could no longer be seen as the role models they should be for young people in France, resulted in tears being shed amongst the players. She also said that (and I quote) [I told them] they tarnished the image of France....... They have destroyed the dreams of their countrymen, their friends and supporters." Surely, just a little over the top, no? The same network I was watching live displayed a headline that I translate to mean France in Mourning.

One country that of course will not be unhappy to see France exciting the tournament is my own, having been the victim of a Thierry Henry hand ball leading to the goal that cost us our place in the prestigious event. Indeed it led to even more controversy for the French tonight when manager Domenech refused to shake hands with the South African manager, allegedly following comments by him that France never should have made it to the World Cup because of the Henry incident. Indeed, that particular incident was huge news here and a major electronics distributer has offered a one hundred euro to its customers when France crash out of the competition.Watch the (slightly racist) ad here.

Ireland is no stranger to World Cup controversy. In 2002 the country was divided when our captain and unarguably one of the greatest players ever to play for the team launched a foul mouthed attack on the then manager even before the tournament had begun refusing to play and returning home. It was difficult to find a soul who didn't have an opinion on the issue. I can honestly swear never to have heard my country in more thorough discussion of any issue since. Our very own Prime Minister tried in vain to resolve the conflict and the saga was even made into one of the longest running shows ever in the history of Irish theater.

It is clear that sport is a powerful instrument that can lift spirits and destroy them, unify and separate. However I can assure Ms Bachelot that my opinion of France will not be changed by the actions of 15 odd men on a pitch in South Africa and I never once questioned my Irish pride when Roy Keane stormed off that pitch in Saipan although I know many who did view it as a disgrace. Maybe it is just the lack of interest in me talking but perhaps at the end of the day we should all just sit back relax and remember it is only a game.