Is anything ever quite what it seems these days? Photoshopped pictures, edited films of Iranian missile launches and Chinese stealth fighters. It will surprise few that it has emerged that the rescue of the Chilean miners did not go as smoothly as was actually shown ‘live’ on TV. Chilean miners rescue was manipulated for the media
BAFTA’s 2011
As expected, The King’s Speech dominated the annual BAFTA awards with Colin Firth picking up a Best Actor gong. The winners were:
Swiss vote against tighter gun controls
Voters in that most democratic of countries, Switzerland, have voted against proposed tighter controls on gun ownership, voters deciding during the referendum to retain the current system, which allows army-issued weapons to be kept at home.
USA no longer the fattest nation
The United States of America is apparently no longer the fattest industrialised nation on the planet, that dubious honour now falling upon Kuwait.
Death of a rock legend
Legendary rock guitarist Gary Moore has died suddenly whilst on holiday in Spain. The 58-year-old guitar virtuoso, originally from Belfast, was found dead just hours after checking into the Kempinski Resort Hotel for the start of a six-day holiday.
The winds of change
The winds of change may be sweeping through Egypt, but it is a different kind of wind that is causing a stir in Malawi, two of the country’s most senior judicial officials arguing over whether a new bill includes a provision that outlaws breaking wind in public.
Anti-social behaviour
Police inspector in charge of 999 calls for anti-social behaviour is arrested… for anti-social behaviour City of London police inspector Jo Northmore, in charge of handling all 999 calls about anti-social behaviour, was given an £80 fixed penalty notice for being drunk and disorderly. At the time of her arrest, she was reportedly also abusive to the officers who stopped …
Democracy, Burma-style
Parliament in Burma is preparing to elect its first civilian president after almost 50 years of military rule, the main candidates (members of the military-backed USDP party) being Tin Aung Myint Oo, outgoing Prime Minister Thein Sein and ethnic Shan Sai Mauk Kham.
Nobel Peace Prize nomination for WikiLeaks
A member of the Norwegian Parliament, Snorre Valen, has apparently nominated WikiLeaks for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. Snorre Valen, a member of the Socialist Left party, believes that WikiLeaks has contributed to the global struggle for human rights, democracy and freedom of speech by exposing, among many other things, corruption, war crimes and torture.
A big ‘Ooops’
Yahoo inadvertently deleted a wrong account – and 4,000 odd photos – and seem unable to retrieve them. It is not the actual photos that is the problem for the account holder, he wisely had the photos backed up on his computer, it is the fact that he has lost the links from other people to his work. And the …