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Monday 24 October 2011

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown

Further pressure has been applied on Libya's new government, the National Transitional Council (NTC), as the bodies of 53 Gaddafi loyalists were found in a government controlled hotel late yesterday afternoon. After only a brief examination of the bodies, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) have suggested the bodies were found bound with a single bullet wound to the head suggesting the Gaddafi loyalists were executed by government forces only hours after the announcement of Gaddafi's death.



Officials from the NTC have denied all involvement in the apparent executions and have insisted on a full review, this however may not be enough to appease either NATO or the UN after an official post mortem carried out Sunday concluded that Gaddafi had also died of a bullet to the head whilst bound.

Peter Bocukeart of the HRW has called for the NTC to keep a closer eye on those who fight for them, saying "The evidence suggests that some of the victims were shot while being held as prisoners, when that part of Sirte was controlled by anti-Gaddafi brigades who appear to act outside the control of the NTC"

This may not be the end of the problem for the NTC as the Human Rights Watch are also looking to link them to the 'suspsicious' deaths of an additional 95 Gaddafi Loyalist all found near to where Gaddafi was captured.

What are your opinions?
Do two wrongs make a right, does the end justify the means?

Wednesday 27 April 2011

Bigger Issues in the World?

You would have to be living under a rock to not be aware of the Royal wedding on Friday, but what is the big deal?

I, as a British citizen, could not care any less about the marriage between Prince William Mountbatten-Windsor (because nobody ever seems to use his last name) and Kate Middleton. Media coverage in my country has been phenomenal, even greater than that of the twin towers disaster, Haitian earthquake and Japanese Tsunami, and with newspapers even giving out free 'Kate 'n' Wills' bunting and posters this occasion has even overtaken the football world cup.


This was of course to be expected in my own country with our notoriously over-patriotic newspapers trying to cash in, however what I didn't expect was the massive influence the wedding would have overseas. Experts at the BBC have estimated an absurd 70%  of the viewing figures will be foreign and are even translating the event into 17 languages including Turkish, Hindi and Japanese.

As a Englishman it's hard to be upset by this given that the one day event is set to bring in around £50billion ($83billion) to the economy, but how do my many Canadian, American and European folllowers feel about the event and it's importance in the news?

Saturday 16 April 2011

No News is Good News.


Sorry I haven't been able to post anything in a while but all my efforts so far have been put towards finding a new job after being laid off thanks to David Cameron's massive cuts to the public sector.

I'll be back before you know it. Stay safe,

                              - Obi-Wan

Monday 11 April 2011

Freedom or Safety?

The controversial new law banning Muslim women from wearing a full Burka cam into effect yesterday in France, since then it has been confirmed that at least two women have been arrested and are still currently being detained by French authorities for wearing the religious garment in public.

The French authorities have claimed that although the women were breaking the law by wearing their veils this was not the reason they are being detained, instead saying the women were arrest for 'joining an unauthorised protest against the ban'.

 
The law as it stands will result in a £133 ($217) fine for any woman caught wearing a Burka in public and a maximum sentence of 2 years imprisonment for anybody forcing women to wear Burkas. In an attempt to quell religious concerns, if found in public the women are first transported either to their home or the nearest police station before being asked to remove their veils.

I live in the most culturally diverse city, in the most culturally diverse country in the world so to me it seems outrageous that the French police can get away with such policies. What are your opinions?  

Thursday 7 April 2011

Fresh Dangers For Japan

Last Month's Tsunami
Breaking News
Japan has once again released a massive tsunami waring to all residents in north-eastern Japan after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck just of the coast of Honshu with enough force to shake inland Tokyo buildings. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) fear more damage may have been done to the Fukushima power plant adding to the toll of the Tsunami only a month ago.
 
What is your take on the situation?

Monday 4 April 2011

Obama To Run For Re-Election

Barack Obama has made it clear he wishes to stand for re-election in the upcoming 2012 elections by releasing a video on his own site 'barackobama.com'. The use of this online video is reminiscent of Obama's use of social networking to gain the support of millions of Americans back in 2008, which many senior officials claim was the main reason behind his victory.


Although President Obama does not appear in the video he has stated that his intentions are to 'start off small and grow over time'. Many opposing officials claim Obama is starting his campaign earlier to hide the fact that he failed to deliver many of his campaign promises, a statement which was disregarded as nonsense by a presidential spokesman.

Not being an American myself I have no opinion on Mr. Obama, but will you be voting for him come 2012?


Sunday 3 April 2011

Outrageous Intolerable Bigotry, Libya and Getting Completely Charlie Sheened

Outrageous Intolerable Bigotry
Today marked the eleventh death since the start of anti-US protests in Afghanistan since they started three days ago. The protests revolve around the burning of the Qu'ran two weeks ago by Pastor Wayne Sapp from Florida, which US President Barack Obama described as "outrageous intolerable bigotry". In an attempt to reduce the violence across Afghanistan, President Obama released a statement to Afghan television saying "The desecration of any holy text, including the Koran, is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry. However, to attack and kill innocent people in response is outrageous, and an affront to human decency and dignity."

Libya
A poll by the BBC found the majority of people believe foreign involvement in Libya will go on for some years. In response to this the British foreign minister William Hague quickly reassured the British public that the situation in Libya would not become like that in Afghanistan and Iraq, stating ""Let's be clear, if the Libyan regime tries to hang on in this situation, they are internationally isolated, they can't sell any oil". Meanwhile the defected Libyan Foreign Secretary Moussa Koussa is still being question by British police.

Getting Completely Charlie Sheened
Charlie Sheen was booed of stage last night during the first night of his one-man show 'Violent Torpedo Of Truth: Defeat Is Not An Option'. Attendees at the event in Detroit have said Sheen was greeted with massive applause but had people walking out as early as only 15 minutes into his show, and to make matters worse, Sheen refused to return to stage after the interval only an hour into his own show. Needless to say many entertainment critics have ripped into Sheen's show, which was supposed to be 'the real story of his life', instead referring to it as series of nonsensical rants.

- What else can Obama do? What are your thoughts on Charlie Sheen?