We don’t just report off-beat news, breaking news and digest the best and worst of the news media analysis and commentary. We give an original take on what happened and why. We add lols, satire, news photos and original content.
THE most effective crimes are the simplest.
A police community support officer who conned air passengers out of thousands of pounds was told she will be separated from her baby as she was jailed for six-and-a-half years today. Alexis Scott told travellers departing from Gatwick that they could not take more than £1,000 in cash out of the country and even held out her hat for them to deposit money.
That is simply brilliant. Softened up by militaristic airport checks, warnings and fear, the uniform needs only ask one more thing: hand over your cash or be detained. Compliance is all.
The scam earned her £13,500.
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CHRISTINA Briggs, 26, is fat. And flame-haired. She’s on benefits, too. Give her pair of NHS-supplied false breasts and a ciggie and Briggs would be the nation’s Aunt Sally with her own show on Channel 4. If she’s lucky, she could forge a career as Channel 5’s authentic face of the white working classes, like White Dee did with her stint on Celebrity Big Brother.
The Star leads with Briggs, the “25-stone SPONGER”.
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WHEN Numan Haider was shot dead by police in Australia, to some he became a martyr. To other, he was an 18-year-old Islamist and IS fan who’d stabbed one policeman in the neck and slashed another.
Alyse Edwards repots for ABC on abuse spray-painted across the entrance to an Indonesian community mosque in Rocklea, Brisbane. The graffiti opines:
“Muslims are evil and have no respect for our ways”.
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“IT’S certainly not something you see every day,” said Aristobulo Olivarez. “He’d been heckling their balloon bending magic act for some time and it seems they’d had enough.”
‘They’ are Minnie and Mickey Mouse, aka Fazzio and Ticiana Yanez, who were entertining people in a Madrid square. A heckler goaed them. Yanez had heard enough. He ripped off his Mickey Mouse head and went for the heckler. Minnie then waded in.
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IDIOT cop shoots man who was reaching for his driving licence:
Posted: 25th, September 2014 | In: Reviews | Comment (1)
FRENCH railtway workers are striking for the right to booze on the job.
Eight workers with state railyway network SNCF are in trouble for supping a rum, lemon and pepper punch while operating signals and points on a line north of Paris.
(The pepper masks the small of alcohol on the breath.)
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LIFE imitates The Day Today as the Metro brigns its take on war in the Middle East:
“Obama: It’s tiem for a war on war”
Spotter: @wonky_donky @JaspJackson
DEVON local Patricia Hewitson wanted help identifying the huge weed growing in her gaden. She asked BBC Radio Devon’s The Potting Shed for help.
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SO. How did newspapers report on the news that the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People titles had been hacking phones?
Is hacking still front-page news? Or is it only front-page news whan Rupert Murdoch’s titles are under the cosh?
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Posted: 25th, September 2014 | In: Reviews | Comment (1)
WRITING in the Guardian, Nick Cohen writes:
Politics, journalism, the arts – they are all increasingly controlled by nice people from wealthy backgrounds. And their niceness is strangling us…
Lindsey Macmillan of the Institute of Education found that journalists used to come from families 6% better off than average, whereas now they come from homes that are 42% richer. Indeed, British journalists, the supposed tribunes of the people, now hail from wealthier backgrounds than, er, bankers, an awkward fact that ought to cause embarrassment all round. I look at my younger self today and wonder if he could become a journalist on a serious newspaper. My parents were teachers. They were comfortably off by the standards of 1980s Manchester, but they could never have afforded to rent me rooms in London and cover my expenses while I went from internship to internship. They had to look after my sisters as much as anything else.
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AND lo it came to pass: Trinity Mirror has admitted that some of its staff were involved in ilegal phone hacking.
The righteous Daily Mirror – the self-styled “intelligent tabloid” – will compensate Shane Richie, Shobna Gulati, Lucy Benjamin and Alan Yentob for listening into their private phone calls.
The company publishes titles including the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People.
And you know who writes for the tusty Mirror? Yep, it’s mullet-thumping, secretary-shagging, love-cheat John Prescott, champion of the surveillance-happy Government that watched us via ubiquitous CCTV, thought ID cards a good idea and brought about the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.
Prezza hates sooping.
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Posted: 24th, September 2014 | In: Politicians, Reviews | Comment
THE Red Bank Police Department in Tennessee looke dat the footage below. They spoke to the officers involved. And about a month to decree that punching a restrained man about the head is not “excessive”. It’s just routine police work.
This is what the chap looked like after the police had processed him:
You don’t need to be subtle if you expect to get away with it.
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FACES of the day:
A local Liberian artist paints a mural forming part of the countrys fight against the deadly Ebola virus by education in the city of Monrovia, Liberia, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014. U.S. health officials Tuesday presented worst-case and best-case scenarios for the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, calculating that as many as 1.4 million people could be sickened in two countries alone by mid-January _ or the outbreak could be winding down by then, if control efforts substantially increase. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)
Meanwhile… in the West:
LUKE O’Neill looks at the state of modern journalism. After the threat to publish nude photos of Emma Watson was a viral marketing hoax by a company called “Rantic” and the Jasmine Tridevil story – she’s the woman who has three beasts that only she has seen in the flesh – O’Neill wonders why so many stories are taken on face value.
This June, a man named Jeremy Meeks bewitched the world. You may know him better by his media-dubbed nickname the Hot Felon. Meeks is attractive enough that his prominent cheekbones and alluring mug-shot stare went viral, bringing the previously unknown criminal instant fame. Days later, outlets from Gawker and BuzzFeed to The Washington Post, the Daily Mail, New York magazine and others reported he’d landed a $30,000 modeling contract…
I called his manager (yes, Meeks now has a manager) to confirm—something no other journalist at that point had bothered to do. There was no $30,000 contract. Modeling agencies had never heard of him…
Why do websites of otherwise trustworthy news organizations stoop to such lows? Because journalism’s digital business model, which forces outlets to compete for the same ad space with the most irresponsible websites on the internet, has created a new reality. Journalists, without the time or wherewithal to carry out a bare minimum of investigation under an unprecedentedly short news cycle, are forced to chase viral clicks and the pennies they bring, posting stories engineered toward “virality” to court their new social-media kingmakers. Once, credibility was the linchpin of journalism. Today, as dubiously sourced stories multiply, it’s an afterthought.
“Companies focus on page views because they’re quantifiable,” says Jonah Berger, author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On. “So journalists optimize for share numbers, and audiences share juicy headlines without reading the story.”
…
The consequences—a generation of journalists lacking ethics training, a public that accepts lower standards and a gaping hole in the media’s organizational practices that the unscrupulous exploit—are as far-reaching for the industry’s role in society as they are for the business of news itself.
WHO was Nudam Haider, the teenager shot dead in Australia? Was he primarily a nutcase, a Muslim or a lovelorn teenager?
The ABC:
Haider, whose family arrived in Australia from Afghanistan about 10 years ago, was a conscientious boy until a couple of years ago, when he began associating with people who held radical Islamist views.
Haider’s parents grew worried as he began staying out late at night and would not return home for extended periods. He had been associating with a radical Islamic group called Al-Furqan, though it is understood he had recently moved away from the group.
Based in Springvale, in Melbourne’s south-east, associates of Al-Furqan were the targets of terrorism raids by Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police in 2012.
The Guardian reports on Haider’s niceness:
Abdul Numan Haider was quiet, gentle and softly spoken, friend says. Youth camp mate says teen terrorism suspect shot dead by police in Melbourne seemed to be looking for answers…
At a Muslim youth camp in Victoria early last year, Abdul Numan Haider attended every lecture, enthusiastically took part in sport and tried his best at camp quizzes. He had to be woken up for dawn prayer but he never complained.
Haider’s cabin mate spent nine days with him and remembers him as “quiet, very gentle, very softly spoken”. The camp catered for young people of all backgrounds, many from disadvantaged families. The theme last year was “The Prophet”.
And then the paper gets confused:
The man, who prefers to remain anonymous, says he remembers, too, that Haider seemed to be looking for answers, and asking questions. He was curious, trying to work out his place in the world, and in Australia, as a young Muslim man.
“I didn’t think he was very learned about the religion. His knowledge was basic, he was not well informed,” he said. “I do remember he was the most gentle, quiet, loving person in the camp.”
To which the paper adds:
For those who knew Haider, what he is alleged to have done is unfathomable. He was a “skinny small boy”, a devout Muslim who prayed at the Hallam mosque in Narre Warren, among other places.
And more confusion:
One man, Mustafa, demanded to see the CCTV footage. Several asked why the police had not shot Haider in the leg rather than killed him. Another said that the cancellation of passports had led to distrust of police and intelligence agencies.
Police and politicians were anxious to calm everyone down and went out of their way to emphasise that what happened on Tuesday night was not about religion or ethnicity, but about allegations about the actions of an individual.
They are nervous about Islamic anger and equally anxious about anti-Muslim sentiment spilling out of control.
Eh? They say it’s not about race but it is about race and religion?
“Victoria police will not tolerate any act of racism and intolerance,” said [Victoria’s police commissioner, Ken] Lay. “Extreme behaviour has nothing whatsoever to do with faith”.
Go that? The Guardian hasn’t. Because it then notes:
The man who shared a cabin with Haider tried to explain the complexity of what many Muslims are feeling. “There’s always a sense of misplacement and doubt over whether you belong,” he said.
The Daily Mail hears from another source:
Firebrand Islamic preacher Mohammed Junaid Thorne has described the 18-year-old man shot dead last night as a ‘wonderful, practicing (sic) brother’ who was ‘murdered by authorities’.
The Age reports on what Haider was up to:
Police suspect the 18-year-old man shot dead outside the Endeavour Hills police stationed planned to behead officers and post the images online. Numan Haider used a small knife to attack an Australian Federal Police officer and a Victorian policeman before he was shot dead with a single shot.
When Haider was searched he was found to be carrying a larger knife and an Islamic State flag.
Police believe the plan was to follow instructions from the international terror group Islamic State and behead the officers, cover the bodies in the flag and then take photos to post via the internet.
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Posted: 24th, September 2014 | In: Reviews | Comment (1)
The airstrike map shown by Army Lt. Gen. William Mayville, Jr., Director of Operations J3, as he briefs the news media on operations in Syria, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Date: 23/09/2014
THE US-led attack on Islamic State is leading the news cycle. Every report contains the fact that five Arab states are backing the assault. One of them is Qatar.
But who is paying IS?
MSN:
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Posted: 24th, September 2014 | In: Reviews | Comments (3)
A woman belonging to the Self-Defense Council of Michoacan, (CAM) inspects a bedroom in the abandoned home of an alleged member of the Templar Knights drug cartel in Paracuaro, Mexico, Friday Jan. 17, 2014. According to the vigilante group, the owner of the home was nicknamed “El Botas” or “the Boots”. Vigilantes in Michoacan state insist they won’t lay down their guns until top leaders of a powerful drug cartel are arrested, defying government orders as federal forces try to regain control in a lawless region. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez) Date: 17/01/2014
MEXICAN news site MVS has relased a video of two reporters from Mexico’s Michoacan state appearing to accept money from one of the country’s most wanted drug lords, Servando Gomez, leader of the Knights Templar Cartel.
The men then discuss a “communication strategy” to improve the cartel’s image and are heard asking for trucks and cameras.
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BARACK Obama has ordered air strikes on Islamic State. Washington, France and five named Arab nations have joined the fight on the jihadists.
“I can confirm that US military and partner nation forces are undertaking military action against Isil terrorists in Syria,” said Rear Admiral John Kirby, a Pentagon press secretary, in a statement. “Given that these operations are ongoing, we are not in a position to provide additional details at this time.”
The Washington Post said the Arab states helping the US are: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Oh, and Qatar is playing a “supporting role”.
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“SHE’S my soulmate, and I love her so much and I was so glad she was actually saved,” says Ann Bendouli. “It said if you have a lighter, put it onto its bottom.”
Mrs Bendouli was walking her dog Jack Russell Lexie on Hampton beach, Australia, when a Staffordhire Bull Terrier attacked.
She had no lighter. But she had her fingers.
“I pulled pulled the tail up and stuck it right up to that knuckle,” she adds.
Yoooooowwwwww!
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, adjusts his translation ear piece during a U.N. Security Council meeting, Friday, Sept. 19, 2014, at the United Nations headquarters. The Security Council met Friday to discuss the situation of the Islamic State group in Iraq. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
HOW’S that pledge not to be like Mitt Romney going?
Two months before the 2012 presidential election, Vice President Biden warned on the campaign trail that Mitt Romney wanted to go to war with Syria…
“He said it was a mistake to set an end date for our warriors in Afghanistan and bring them home. He implies by the speech that he’s ready to go to war in Syria and Iran,” Biden said in his speech.
Biden also went after the Republican presidential nominee when Romney called Russia America’s “number one geopolitical foe.”“He wants to move from cooperation to confrontation with Putin’s Russia,” Biden said. “And these guys say the president’s out of touch? Out of touch? Swiss bank account, untold millions in the Cayman Islands. Who’s out of touch, man?”
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Posted: 23rd, September 2014 | In: Politicians, Reviews | Comment
KTVA Charlo Greene quit on live TV after revealing she was the founder of the AK Cannabis Club.
HOW about that online debate?
In this month’s issue of Personality and Individual Differences a study was published that confirms what we all suspected: internet trolls are horrible people.
Aren’t they just saying things online?
Let’s start by getting our definitions straight. An internet troll is someone who comes into a discussion and posts comments designed to upset or disrupt the conversation. Often, it seems like there is no real purpose behind their comments except to upset everyone else involved. Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response.
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Posted: 22nd, September 2014 | In: Reviews, Technology | Comment
Chief of the Forensic Police Institute Pornchai Suteerakune updates reporters on the deaths of two British tourists who were found dead on a beach in Koh Tao, a popular diving destination in the Gulf of Thailand, in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. Police on the scenic Thai resort island searched hotels and workers’ residences Tuesday looking for clues into the slayings of the tourists whose nearly naked, battered bodies were found on a beach a day earlier.(AP photo/Sakchai Lalit)
KOH Tao murders: A look at reporting on the murders or David Miller and Hannah Witheridge.
The Sun: “Cop: Sex row key to Thai murders”
THE killer of two Brits in Thailand may have been motivated by “sexual jealousy”, local police say. They are investigating a row between David Miller and a Thai man who tried to chat up Hannah Witheridge in a bar. Police spokesman Kissana Phathanachareon said: “We still believe sexual jealously is at the heart of this crime.”
What else is believed?
It is believed David stepped in to help Hannah in the bar — and died as he tried to protect her from their killers.
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THE DAILY MAIL says “Nazi-saluting thugs” stained the Scotland indy referendum no-vote victory celebrations in Glasgow. The Mail says things became “nasty”. There were songs, such as “You can stick your independence up your arse”, “If you hate Alex Salmond clap your hands” and the Sectarian mainstay God Save the Queen.
One drunken protester boasted that ‘Glasgow would burn for voting Yes,’ claiming it was now ‘payback time’.
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Posted: 21st, September 2014 | In: Reviews, Sports | Comment
The beach front at Margate showing the crowds of holiday makers.
Date: 31/07/1946
THE Dreamland site in Margate, Kent, is billed as “Britain’s oldest surviving rollercoaster”. By surviving the blurb means not yet fallen down. Built in 1920, the Scenic Railway fell into disrepair when the attraction closed in 2005 and was then badly damaged by an arson attack in 2008. The refurbishment of the Grade II listed ride, is part of an £18m project to reopen the amusement park in 2015.
Margate was once the resort of choice for families and youth:
Holidaymakers continue like normal (bottom left) before trouble flares up again between mods and rockers on Margate beach
Date: 18/05/1964
The beach front at Margate showing the crowds of holiday makers.
Ref #: PA.7548773
Date: 31/07/1946
Sculptor Antony Gormley stands in front of his 25 metre high ‘Waste Man’, a giant sculpture made out of waste wood, paper and cardboard, at Dreamland, Margate.
Picture date: Thursday September 28, 2006.
Lest we forget. You can keep the Costa Brava and all that palava, going no farther, me i’d rather have me a day down Margate with all me family”…
