By RICHARD A. RAMOS

Six leading presidential candidates professed admiration for the dynamic Cebu financial situation and the entrepreneurial spirit of the locals, saying Cebu makes for an ideal model that the country can emulate due to the presence of several industries propelling its economy to new heights.

The event, dubbed “Choices and Voices for 2010: An Encounter with the Presidentiables,”  was jointly organized by the three top business organizations, namely: Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry led by Honorary Consul Samuel Chioson; Cebu Business Club led by president Dondi Joseph; and Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry led by president Eric Ng Mendoza.

Senator Richard Gordon acknowledged Cebu’s leadership in tourism, shipping, and exports, adding that he has always been an admirer of Cebu due to the work ethic and craftsmanship of the locals in many fields such as furniture, computer software, and the arts.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Jr. was more straightforward as he called for the construction of a new bridge linking the cities of Mandaue and Mactan, a new airport runway, the creation of additional power supply, and widening of certain roads in order to further upgrade Cebu infrastructure.

Senator Manny Villar cited the role of the province in information technology and entrepreneurship, leading the way for more self-reliance, pride and dignity, and consequent wealth generation.

Meanwhile, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III pointed out Cebu’s part in the restoration of democracy during the 1986 People Power Revolution, as well as its economic transformation through export processing zones and the transcentral highway.

On promises against corruption, Bro. Eddie Villanueva vowed to implement genuine transparency in the Department of Justice, Commission on Audit, and the Ombudsman in order to make for effective change. Estrada claimed to have called the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate his son Jinggoy and his wife Loi for corruption charges which were found to be untrue.

Forum results showed that Teodoro won the mock poll with a rating of 46.5 percent, or 465 votes of the 960 total votes polled by the audience. He was followed by Aquino with 296 votes. Third was Villar with 88 votes, Gordon with 65, Villanueva with 29, and Estrada with only 19.

Pedophiles are to be denied the benefits of the statute of limitations until their victims reach legal age and may face tougher penalties.

The government, during the Cabinet meeting yesterday, passed the revision bill on the sex crime victim protection law, said officials.

Child sex offenders are to be denied the benefits of the statute of limitations until their victims (under 13 years of age) reach the age of 20, according to the bill.

“Underage victims, due to fear and their limited communication capacities, are often unable to properly testify the circumstances of the crime,” said a government official.

“Due to new advanced investigation techniques, investigators may now better collect and preserve the necessary evidence such as the criminal’s DNA records.”

As long as the collected evidence is adequately preserved, the case may not be closed until the victimized child reaches maturity, the official said.

More: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/10/201002100048.asp

via Thugs attacked homeless man after leaving nightspot – Edinburgh Evening News.

I thought this kind of thing was so commonplace in Edinburgh that it does not qualify as news.
The time is odd though. 7pm?
More like a 2 or 3 O’Clock in the morning sport after a skinful.But not on the way to the boozer.
Perhaps they were on an all day bender?
Good on the jaikie though for refusing medical treatment.

The police and immigration services may be illegally ignoring the human rights of foreign women who have been forced into prostitution, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission has alleged.

The commission suspects the sexual exploitation of women from overseas is being treated routinely as an immigration issue, with the women often regarded as criminals rather than as victims of coercion, violence and trafficking.

It is launching an inquiry today headed by the civil rights lawyer Lady Kennedy, which will investigate whether the UK is failing to meet its duties under European and domestic human rights legislation.

“Human trafficking is recognised as a grave abuse of human rights, involving coercion and deception. It entails ongoing exploitation and its victims suffer untold misery,” Kennedy said. “This inquiry is about making a reality of people’s human rights and serving those whose rights have been violated.”

More:

Families of violent crime victims have urged authorities and Facebook executives to curb prisoners’ use of online networking sitesfrom inside their cells.

Barry Mizen, whose teenage son Jimmy was murdered by Jake Fahri in May 2008, will lead a delegation who will meet politicians Facebook executives this week and calling for websites to take down ”nasty” material.

He said complaints over postings often ”disappeared into cyberspace” instead of prompting their removal.

The family of Ben Kinsella told last month of their outrage at taunts posted on Facebook by his killer, Jade Braithwaite.

Braithwaite, who is serving a life sentence, wrote that he was ”down but not out” and posted a mock-up photo of himself wearing a T-shirt which said ”Free Jade Braithwaite”.

Mr Mizen, his wife Margaret and Richard Taylor, father of murdered schoolboy Damilola, will attend talks chaired by Justice Secretary Jack Straw on Wednesday.

Representatives of Facebook and regulator Ofcom will also attend, a spokesman for the Mizen family said.

”I think social networking and Facebook are great sites but there has to be a degree of monitoring and responsibility – and that lies firmly with the social networking site,” Mr Mizen said.

More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7189439/Prisoners-use-of-Facebook-should-be-curbed-say-families-of-violent-crime-victims.html

Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to sign into law a bill that strengthens the protections for sexual assault victims.

Jane Doe Inc., an organization focused on ending domestic violence and sexual assault, says the law creates an enforceable civil restraining order for victims of sexual assault and stalking and closes a gap in protection.

The state House of Representatives passed the bill on Monday 153-0. It passed the Senate last November 37-0.

More: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100209sex_assault_law_gets_legal_boost/srvc=home&position=recent

Anti-stalking legislation which has been seven years in the making has made it to Parliament with the tabling of the Protection from Harassment Bill in the National Assembly yesterday.

The bill comes against high rates of domestic violence in the country and a recognition that the current recourse of a victim to a protection order or interdict has been largely ineffective. The bill provides that if an interim or final protection order is issued, a suspended arrest warrant will also be ordered to eliminate delays should the stalking continue.

It also provides for the seizure of firearms and other dangerous weapons from those accused of harassment, and provides that the lesser “balance of probabilities” civil test will be used in court rather than the “beyond reasonable doubt” used in criminal cases.

More: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=93227

Source: NHS Evidence – diabetes

Follow this link for full text

Date of publication: 11 January 2010

Publication type: Web page

In a nutshell: A ‘Behind the Headlines’ commentary on a story published in the Times, which said a study has found that quitters are twice as likely as smokers, and 70% more likely than non-smokers, to have type 2 diabetes.

Length of publication: 1 page

Source: Diabetes UK

Date of publication: 25 January 2010

Publication type: News story

In a nutshell: The first ever diabetes audit of 200 NHS hospitals has found that 20 per cent of patients on hospital wards have diabetes – twice the proportion previously estimated.  The audit also shows that people with diabetes stay in hospital longer than other patients.

Length of publication: due to be published later this year

Source: Diabetes UK

Date of publication: 18 January 2010

Publication type: News story; survey

In a nutshell: Diabetes UK has published its 2009 survey of people with diabetes and access to healthcare services.  The findings indicate that 56 per cent of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes last year did not even suspect they could have the condition, as they failed to identify its early symptoms.

Some important notes: Link available to report [16p pdf]

Imagine your 12-year-old daughter has been kidnapped and, when she’s finally found, she’s been forced into a child prostitution ring. Imagine that she’s kept in a drug-induced haze and raped repeatedly. Imagine the horror, grief and shock that would overwhelm you and your family as you dealt with that situation, and the work you’d be eager to do to heal your daughter.

And now, in the middle of that trying and sensitive situation, imagine that the state of Georgia is labeling her a criminal.

Imagine what you would do.

State Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, knows what she would do. She has proposed legislation that would establish a path of diversionary treatment for children under the age of 16 who are picked up for prostitution. Her bill would set up a system of care that would focus on education, prevention and increased opportunity for the victims.

And victims are exactly what they are.

According the the governor’s Office of Family and Children Services, there are more than 400 underage prostitutes on the streets in Atlanta. The city has been ranked as one of the worst in the country in terms of child prostitution. A 2002 FBI sting broke up 14 men who had grotesquely pimped dozens of girls, some as young as 10.

It seems like a no-brainer piece of legislation, right? Well, apparently not.

Various conservative Christian organizations in Georgia have joined forces to oppose the bill. At a rally outside the Capitol earlier this week, speakers slammed the legislation, with former state Sen. Nancy Shafer arguing “the very profitable and growing pedophile industry” would benefit from its passage.

Likewise, Sue Ella Deadwyler, a conservative Christian activist, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that, if passed, the bill would result in “an absolute cultural upheaval” in Georgia that would legalize prostitution. Deadwyler went on to question how many of the victims actually were forced into such behavior, and said most of them willingly volunteered to be prostitutes. Rally participants included the Georgia Christian Coalition and Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition.

More: http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/020710/opi_559550830.shtml

Special kids perform play

By Jamil Khan @ Gulf Today-Sharjah, Feb 07, 2010

The children with special needs at the SNF Centre enjoyed a day-long annual event “The Magic Bus”, which was held at the India Club, Dubai on Saturday.
The event was attended by a huge number of guests, including parents.
All the students from the centre were given an opportunity to participate in the play called The Magic Bus.

Many roles
The children played various roles as part of the play to describe the story.
The guest of honour was Dr Shareefa Abdool, Consultant Neurologist, Head of the Neurology Department Rashid Hospital, Dubai. She is Head of Scientific Committee, Emirates Medical Association and Board Member and President of the Neurology Society, Emirates Medical Association.
Four students enthralled the audience with their Robot Dance. The dance was performed by Sadiq, Muneeb, Brandon and Taha. The dance was choreographed by the students from the Kiara Group as some of them participated in the dance to encourage the children with special needs.

Annual concerts
Safia Bari, director of the SNF Children Development Centre told The Gulf Today that The Magic Bus event is one of the annual concerts being held for a long time in which all the children from the centre take part. “It is a unique programme in which children are given an opportunity to perform play on the stage to build confidence by performing in front of the public,” she said.
She said that the event guides parents to encourge their children to take part in different activities and perform with confidence.
The story of The Magic Bus revolves around four main characters: Ayesha, the mother and her two children, Brahadeesh and Amena and Karan the bus driver.
The story begins with the mother trying to wake up her two children early in the morning, so they will not be late for school. The children resist waking up because they don’t want to go to the school. The mother decides to tell them a story about The Magic Bus. While listening to the story, Amena and Brahadeesh experience the exciting trip in their dreams.

Four children
The story says, “Once upon a time, there was a driver of an old bus who regularly drove around the village to collect the children for school. Most of the children in the village were lazy and did not want to get up every morning, and they did not like going to school, except four children. One day, the four children had no idea that they would be taken on a very special journey.”
“On this particular day, they were taken  to a winter wonderland. The children were so excited and played in the snow, decorated a giant Christmas tree and watched the robot dancers.”
After hearing the story, Amena and Brahadeesh learnt that going to school could be a fun.
The play was appreciated enormously by the parents and the volunteers.
End

Crap like this scares me.  I’ve already come to peace with the fact that I am not going to be able to retire, that I’ll just work until I’m dead (hopefully sooner then later. Why delay the inevitable, eh?) BUT, I really really don’t want to live through the “Great-er Depression”. - http://www.marketwatch.com/story/our-debt-time-bomb-is-ready-to-go-ka-boom-2010-02-02

Right straight out of the gate we’ve got some grade A crapitalism brewing in… where else… the Catholic Church.

The Canadian Celiac Association has expressed concern to the diocese of P.E.I. over the fact that communion wafers contain wheat gluten. This was, I gather, in between sessions of having real issues to spend their time on. People with celiac disease cannot process wheat gluten, so they have requested that the diocese replace their normal wafers with gluten-free ones.

The response?

Rev. Eric Dunn, chancellor of the diocese, said that under canon law, the host has to have some gluten in it.

It’s been a while since I was in church, but I still remember the fateful passage from Matthew 18:20;

Jesus said unto his disciples “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. But verily I say unto you: if y’all aren’t packing the gluten, y’all can go fuck yourselves!”

And in a moment that shows the sensitive, forward-thinking and inclusive spirit we’ve come to expect from the Church, the bishop made it clear that anyone with celiac disease can feel free to forego the communion wafers and drink from the chalice instead. As if having a cracker make you shit yourself isn’t bad enough, you can now out yourself as diseased in front of the whole community! “Mommy, why don’t you take communion?” “Because Jesus hates my small intestine, honey.”

Maybe the church is an easy target and picking on them for making stupid mistakes is like beating a dead horse until it rises again on the third day, but I found this story particularly interesting. According to the same canon law, the host (the communion wafer), once consecrated, undergoes a process called transubstantiation wherein it becomes the living body of Jesus. This is a sacred miracle that is one of the cornerstones of Catholic mass. Far from being merely a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice, the host is the body of Christ.

If this is true, then there should be no gluten present at all in a consecrated host, so people with celiac disease shouldn’t have anything to worry about. By admitting that people with celiac disease might need to avoid it, the church is saying either:

1. Their priests are incompetent and incapable of calling down the bread-transformin’ powers of Almighty God,
2. God refuses to perform the miracle because the followers of the Church (and by extension, the leaders) are lacking in some important way,
3. God hates people with celiac disease, or
4. It’s just a cracker, transubstantiation is a crock, and canon law is just a bunch of hokey superstition dressed up in funny clothes.

Unsurprisingly, the issue lit up the comments section (I can’t dive into those anymore, I get addicted) and the religious and anti-religious came out of the woodwork to pump their respective positions. If you want to explore just how deep the lack of critical thinking can go, just check out the flame war on any religious posting comments board.

Expect more brilliant insight from the Church, incidentally. Nobody’s told them it’s not the 1500s anymore, but when they find out, there’s gonna be a shiiiiit storm!

After years of political stand-offs and squabbling, at the stroke of a pen, policing and justice in Northern Ireland is finally to be handed over from Westminster.

But what are the main areas of policing and justice — and what changes will there be?

Policing: Unlikely to bring much change to police accountability, as the PSNI is already accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. Police here already have similar powers to officers in England and Wales. Police funding, which is provided by the Secretary of State to the Policing Board, will become the responsibility of the Justice Minister, who will set police pay and conditions as well as making regulations providing for pensions. The Policing Board’s powers will not be diminished but funding will now be allocated from the Northern Ireland block grant.

Criminal law: A key part of the work will be creating and maintaining the criminal law in Northern Ireland through legislating for the creation of offences and related court procedures such as bail, proceeds of crime, road traffic offences, sexual crime. To include development of criminal justice policy in areas like sentencing and restorative justice and services for crime victims.

One is known only as “Marie,” a teenage girl who was shoved into the path of an oncoming car on June 9, 1973.

No one knows the name of another, a woman found left in a trunk behind an oyster bar on Oct. 31, 1969. Nor of the man found shot to death in his hotel room on April 26, 1980.

What the trio has in common, aside from dying violently in St. Petersburg, is that they are buried in separate graves at the Memorial Park Cemetery in St. Petersburg. And next week, in a first-time, high-tech effort to identify them, their remains will be exhumed.

“It’s something we have to do,” said Brenda Stevenson, a civilian investigator with the St. Petersburg Police Department who works cold cases. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to close some cases and get some families some closure.”

On Friday, Erin Kimmerle, an anthropologist from the University of South Florida, and a group of USF students used ground-penetrating sonar equipment to help detect exactly where the bodies are.

After the exhumation, the medical examiner’s office will send bone and tissue samples from the remains to an FBI lab so DNA profiles for the three can be created. The profiles will then be run against a national database of missing people’s DNA to see if there are any matches.

There was no reason to exhume the bodies before, Stevenson said. The people died before DNA technology had developed enough to allow scientists to glean genetic fingerprints from bone or tissue samples. “DNA didn’t exist back then,” she said.

The missing-persons database itself wasn’t operational until 2001.

More: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/feb/06/na-usf-project-aims-to-id-slain-crime-victims/

Fruit Logistica in full swing

By Jamil Khan @ Gulf Today-Sharjah, Feb 05, 2010

BERLIN: Thousands of leading traders dealing in fresh fruits and vegetables and associated industries have been taking part in the 3-day Fruit Logistica 2010 being held in the capital of Germany.
The event which has become one of premier event of the year is being witnessing a huge number of visitors from various countries around the world. This year total number of exhibitors are 2300 belonging from 71 countreis offering an unparallelled overview of global fruit and vegetable production and trade.
The leading international trade fair, Fruit Logistica, was opened by Julia Klšckner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. She joined Dr Christian Gške, Messe Berlin Chief Operating Officer, and Fruit Logistica Global Brand Manager. Together with Dr. Gške and the Ana Graciela Aguilar Antu–ano, Chief Executive Director of the Mexican Association ASERCA, Klšckner cut the white ribbon to officially open the pavilion for Mexico, this year’s partner country.
On the occasion, she said that “In 1999, Mexico exported $400 million in agricultural products to Europe. In 2008, goods worth $800 million were exported and Fruit Logistica is one of the world’s most important trade fairs for Mexico.”
Klockner said that, “Fruit and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. At Fruit Logistica, the whole world comes together with high-quality products. Thanks to international cooperation, agriculture, production and consumers are accessible all at once”.
The exhibition is being organizing by Messe Berlin and also hosting Freshconex 2010, the international trade fair for fresh produce convenience.
The exhibitors comprises global players as well as small and medium-sized companies involved in the production of fresh fruits and vegetables while a huge number of companies dealing in the packaging and provoding logistic services also taking part in the event.
The largest participations based on exhibitors numbers are made up of the following key European fresh produce trading nations, like Italy (413), Spain (311), Germany (244), France (239) and the Netherlands (217).
Mexico is the official partner country which is also celebrating its bicentennial year as an independent country in 2010 and participating as a biggest-ever appearance to have a huge number of growers, organizations and trade associations.

FRESH PRODUCE MARKET FIGURES
According to information from the AMI (agricultural market information service) in Bonn, 800 million tonnes of vegetables and nearly 700 million tonnes of fruit were produced worldwide in 2009.
Fruit and vegetable production levels have increased steadily over the past few years. Apples, grapes, oranges, melons and bananas are the world’s leading fruit vareities, accounting for around 60 per cent of global production. The range of vegetables is more diverse with the three leading varieties (tomatoes, head cabbage, cucumbers) accounting for only 30 per cent of the total production volume.

PARTNER COUNTRY MEXICO WELCOMES THE SECTOR
Ana Graciela Aguilar Antu–ano, Chief Executive Director of Aserca (Apoyos y Servicios a la Comercializaci—n Agropecuaria) and representative of the official partner country Mexico, announced her country’s biggest-ever exhibit at Fruit Logistica along with the largest variety of Mexican fruit and vegetables ever presented in Europe. Antu–ano confirmed Mexico’s ranking among the top 15 agricultural exporters in the world by the World Trade Organisation. “Avocados, lemons, beer, tequila and honey stand for Mexican quality all over the world”, she said.

MINISTER ZAIA RECOGNISES IMPORTANCE OF FRUIT LOGISTICA
Speaking at the trade fair, Luca Zaia, Italy’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, said, “As the sector’s most important trade event, Fruit Logistica provides excellent opportunities to Italian agricultural producers”.
Once again, Italy is the leading country at the trade fair with 413 exhibitors and 15 per cent more display stand area this year. Minister Zaia said he was impressed by the presentation of the regions and companies. He explained that quality and certification are key factors when it comes to products and that Germany remains the most important market for Italy’s agricultural sector.
End

The UK Parliament Justice Committee [official website] released a reinvestment report [text] on Thursday urging the prison populations in England and Wales to be reduced by a third. The committee found that incarceration is a relatively ineffective way of reducing crime except for serious offenders, and the amount of repeat offenders could be more efficiently reduced through rehabilitation programs such as housing, employment, education, and drug and alcohol services. The Ministry of Justice, which is currently spending £4.2 billion on a new prison, claims that its current strategy of longer prison sentences, which incorporate rehabilitation services, is working and the number of repeat offenders has declined. According to the report, the new prison is a “costly mistake” and funds would be better allocated to local public services outside of the prisons.

More: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/01/uk-prison-population-should-be-cut-by.php

via Jim Devine protests his innocence over expenses charges | Politics | guardian.co.uk.

Jim Devine is a pure chancer.
A complete turd who came from the world of trade unions to inherit the parliamentary seat of the late Robin Cook.
While Cook was always going to be a hard act to follow,Devine just couldn’t make the quantum leap to Westminster politics. If ever anyone was out of their depth it was him.
A boozy-faced fat union guy, his great contribution to politics was to lobby for a dead football boss (Jock Stein) to get a knighthood.Talk about being out of touch.
He is probably the Most useless Scottish Labour MP ever.
Not only has he been dumped by Labour, he now faces prison.
I don’t think he will do well ‘inside’.

The aim of Council Directive 2004/80/EC is to set up a system of cooperation to facilitate access to compensation for victims of crimes in cross-border situations. This system operates on the basis of Member States’ compensation schemes for victims of violent intentional crime committed in their respective territories.

ACT

Council Directive 2004/80/EC of 29 April 2004 relating to compensation to crime victims.

SUMMARY

Crime victims should be entitled to fair and appropriate compensation for the injuries they have suffered, regardless of where in the EU the crime was committed. This directive contributes to this by:

• Requiring Member States to provide in their national legislation for a compensation scheme for victims of violent intentional crime committed in their territories;
• Setting up a system facilitating access to compensation for victims of crimes in cross-border situations (possibility of making an application in the Member State of residence, designation of central contact points in Member States, etc.).

Guaranteeing adequate compensation for victims of crime throughout the EU

It is often difficult to obtain compensation for victims either because the offender does not have the necessary financial resources or because it has not been possible to identify or prosecute the offender (the possibility of obtaining compensation from the offender is dealt with in the framework decision on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings). Most Member States are aware of this fact and have already introduced state-funded compensation schemes. However, these schemes differ greatly, and these differences have engendered substantial inequalities in terms of full coverage of all EU citizens and amount of compensation.

Following the entry into force of the directive, it will be possible for the victim of a crime to be compensated in cross-border and national situations irrespective of the victim’s country of residence or the Member State in which the crime was committed. The amount of compensation to be paid to individual victims is left to the discretion of the Member State in which the crime was committed, but it must be fair and appropriate.

More: http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/crime/compensation-crime-victims/

Stalking set to become illegal in Poland – Polish Institute of Justice said.

One in ten Poles are or have been the victims of staling, a Institute of Justice survey of 10,000 people found.

That means millions of Poles are affected, forced to change their behavior or mobile number to avoid the taunts.

A report into the issue should be ready in about 6 weeks and it’s possible that stalking will then be defined in the Polish criminal code.

At present it is unknown just what level of harassment will be considered “stalking” or what fines might be associated.

More: http://www.masterpage.com.pl/outlook/201002/stalking.html

Once a week, every week, 19-year-old single parent Antoinette Franklin gets counseling to help her learn to be a better mom to 3-month-old Amia.

“You know it helps you so that you won’t get frustrated and want to, you know, lead to the abuse as far as mentally, physically ot anything,” Antoinette told CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers.

Programs such as one at Chicago’s Near North Health Service may play a role in dramatically reducing child abuse from 1993 to 2005.

A federal study found a 38 percent decline in child sex abuse, a 27 percent decrease in emotional abuse, and a 15 percent drop in physical abuse.

Child advocate David Finkelhor credits what he calls a “troop surge” in the war on child abuse in the 90s.

More:  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/03/eveningnews/main6171461.shtml

Constantly flicking between Sky News and BBC News, flicking through the papers, desperately trying to find a lead of a story that has not already been reported, just to make my break… Just to fill in the blanks, I am a second year Journalism student in London, and my degree is taking over my life!

Since beginning my course, I have always been looking for a story to write about, in the desperate hope that I will be able to get a newspaper to publish it. However seeing as I don’t have a regular column in the Guardian, you can probably guess that I haven’t found a story, and no the broadsheets don’t care. During my course, one of the assignments was to write a news story and that was difficult enough, I only found a tiny story that nobody outside of my work would care about, but tried to spice it up to make it more interesting, but no, it still sounded rubbish.

So here I am, looking through local papers, seeing what events are coming up that are of little enough interest that the local papers would not send their own journalist along. But no, nothing is too boring for the locals. What I need is something sudden, where I am, so I’m first on the scene, with all the news; but that’s what is causing us journalism students some issues.

I was on an express bus that goes to Heathrow airport whilst on my way to University, when two men get on the bus with suitcases. Being my normal desperate self looking for a story, I watched them as they were behaving a bit weird.  They were both talking in a foreign language, fair enough, seeing as they were both foreign. Then they started talking using sign language, I didn’t understand what they were saying to begin with, let alone now, but that’s interesting I thought. Then they separated and sat at other ends of the bus and pretended they didn’t even know each other. Now seeing as a few days previous that the terror threat level was raised to severe, my mind started going crazy. Could they possibly be terrorists, or just two people going on holiday that don’t really want to sit next to each other? I was already making notes incase something did happen, I already had a story to publish, with more details than the Times at least.

I spoke to another student and she told me a similar story, about how she was on a bus and she was hoping the bus next to her would just crash, of course a minor crash so nobody was hurt, but would just cause a whole lot of traffic so she could write something for the local paper. Yet thankfully Heathrow is still standing, and the bus didn’t crash, but we are still without stories.

So this is just a friendly message to those journalists who have already made it. Please stop writing stories and leave some for the rest of us, or you are going to have lots of students running around trying to cause bus crashes, just so they have something to write about.

Why Do People Votes Against There Own Interests? – And interesting question possed by the BBC