The Times is really going down the pan. The standard of journalism has been slipping since before I left for university, and the switch from broadsheet to tabloid format just highlighted their slip from a serious newspaper into the relms of their sister publication, The Sun, and the numerous free papers that one can pick up on a ten minute stroll through London.

So I read the article in the Times Literary Supplement on “The Madness of Big Pharma” with little expectation of fair, balanced, well informed writing. But even with that mental steeling msyelf, I was still enraged.

Under the pretence of reviewing the book Mania, written by renounded pyschiatric whistle-blower David Healy (who is actually a bit of a knob, but that’s a completely seperate rant), Andrew Scull goes on that old rant of how mental illness, in particular “manic-depressive psychosis” (which he then explains is the common term for bipolar disorder disorder – someone really needs to tell the mental health community we’ve been going with the wrong name all along), is actually just a form of weakness, and if we’d all man up and chuck away the meds – which aren’t actually working, of course – then the world would be a brighter place for everyone.

I’m so angry, I’m having trouble writing in a sensible and coherent manner without resorting to name calling (you dick, Andrew) and SCREAMING IN ALL CAPS about how for some reason a literary journalist is qualified to discuss mental illness in such a frank and demeaning way. Luckily, a guest post is up over at Mental Nurse which does much better at it:

It’s a hatchet job, from the arts and entertainment section of the Times – specifically, the Literary Supplement – of the diagnosis of manic depression, done by being quite selective about what is actually mentioned about the book in question…

I love “a disease (if such it be)”. Because of course, here we get to the nub of the matter. I’m not really ill, it’s not really a disease, I’m just either a poor wee victim of the evils of big pharma, or alternatively, a malingerer who needs a kick in the arse, or again someome who has caused themselves problems in their life and needs some therapy so I can talk about how I feeeeeeel…

Why is it so damned important to people at the Times that I happen to take medication for my disorder? Why do we see article after article in the media, on one pretext or another, that promotes the view that mental illness is not real, that mental illness is not as severe or not as big a deal as sufferers say it is, or that taking medication for it is evil, or a crutch, or an excuse for not wanting to “confront” one’s issues because therapy is so much work etc etc etc? (DeeDee Ramona)

Go over there. Read it. Comment on it. Repost it. Because the more people that actually get how mental illness works, how it effects sufferers and those around us, and how similar it actually is to “real” illnesses like asthma and diabetes, the less likely we are to get articles like the above published and the more likely it becomes that treatment will be taken seriously and become more and more effective.

But returning to my diatribe, in conclusion I’m sorry Mr Scull that I’m making your world so distasteful by my support for big pharma, but I quite like my Lamictal and being a fully functioning member of society. I can prove it works, both by independant medical studies (PubMed can help you here, but surely you already know this as a medical journalist. Oh, wait…) and my own personal experience (stable with the drugs, unstable when I stop seems good enough for me) so whether you like it or not I’m going to keep treating my chronic mental illness in the same way you’d treat any other chronic physical illness.

Oh, and finally? Laura Anderson of Charlottesville, US: BPD is short for borderline personality disorder, a completely seperate illness with completely seperate methods of treatment. Though I should expect that kind of ill-informed behaviour from Have Your Sayers by now…

Just when I thought the G20 protests would get swept under the rug, the events of this week have re-stoked the fires of dissent and unrest. The alarming second post-mortem on Ian Tomlinson revealed that the 47-year-old newspaper seller died of internal hemorrhaging not, as was previously thought, a heart attack. Reports suggest that the officer involved could face the charge of manslaughter, so this is definitely one to keep an eye on.

This seems to have garnered genuine public interest and the Evening Standard’s splash yesterday ‘What Have You Got To Hide?’ pours further scorn on the tactics of the Metropolitan Police. It seems this one is not ready for a rug sweeping just yet.

Nicola Fisher does seem to be milking her altercation for all it’s worth and her decision to hire Max Clifford does raise serious doubts about her real motives (as if you need reminding, this is the man who juiced the last days of Jade Goody). Hugo Rifkind acerbically dissects Fisher’s anti-capitalist credentials in a typically witty column for The Times.

But the really impressive footage to arise this weekend comes from Climate Camp in the City. At 9 minutes 50 seconds, this professionally-edited documentary pushes the upper time limit of YouTube, but it is well worth a watch as it wonderfully encapsulates the mood at Climate Camp and exposes some disgraceful police behaviour to break up the protest after dark.

For those of you who don’t have 10 minutes to spare, the highlights are:

4:50 – An officer is clearly seen smacking a protester across the head with his shield.
7:49 – An officer punches a protestor in the face.

Whilst I can partially sympathise with the police who must have had one of the hardest days of their careers, the assaults shown here are simply indefensible. In my last post, I called for a bigger stick to beat the police with. I think the protesters have found it.

The Metropolitan police haven’t seen the back of this one yet.

Hold on to your knickers girls…The gorgeous, sexy, funny, intelligent (need I go on) Russell Brand has inadvertently got himself snapped in the buff on a balcony in Aus! I just have to say, thank you god for sending these amazing photos into my life.  More specifically, thank you News of The World for publishing the pics and thank you Chris Moyles’s quiz show thingy for bringing them to my attention!

While we’re on the Brand subject, did anyone read the article about the fine imposed on the BBC by Ofcom, the media regulator, in The Times? Obviously The Times is just reporting the facts but I do find the statements from Ofcom slightly hilarious! According to this article: “The regulator said that the privacy of the woman in question, Georgina Baillie, had been “unwarrantably and seriously infringed”.”

You have to be joking??? Fair enough she didn’t consent to Russ (haha, who do I think I am?!) telling his few million listeners that they’d shared bodily fluids. However I do find it ridiculous, considering her behaviour afterwards, that anyone could talk about her like she didn’t love every second of it! It totally thrust (pardon the punn) her into the media glare and gave her the exposure she was looking for! This is a woman who is in some band called the Satanic Sluts for crying out loud! And lets not forget how much she capitalised on her moment of glory afterwards! If I remember correctly she even corrected Russell’s claims that they did it on the kitchen table, telling the nation that they ACTUALLY did it on the couch! Yes, she is clearly a woman concerned about details of her sexcapades being made public!

And can I just point out, Russell Brand has had god knows how many kiss and tells done on him! He certainly isn’t the only celeb either. Is this not “unwarrantably and serious infringing” their privacy?? Or is it only when the person in question isn’t famous?? Nobody has ever slapped a fine like that on The Sun!

If you ask me, this whole thing was blown out of proportion. Most of the people that complained never even heard the show and only complained about it after it was reported in the news. I understand why people would think it might have frightened an old man or whatever but this is a man who has spent his whole life in the spotlight and who knows what it’s all about. He also reprised his character off the back of the scandal at Prince Charles’s birthday bash so I’m sure he ain’t to bothered about it.

The fine, I think it’s fair enough since there clearly were failings in the system for this to even make it to air.

Now on to more pressing matters…can anyone get me a copy of this picture without the pesky leaf blocking my view??!

mari DONLOD MP3 disini
semudah 123goo………..

julie goes overseas – si dia

bittersweet – burn berlin down

butterfingers – seribu tahun xkan hilang

THE REAPER.THE PREGNANTLICIOUS.BRITNEY SPEARS.EL-HASNAA.DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU LOOK LIKE ONE OF MY MALE FRIENDS BRITNEY.HIS NAME IS JEAN AWADALLA.he used to work as a physician in the USA last time i checked.i guess i did not like him much.but i like you more now.so …who scored.i mean who is the father.just kidding. i am sure you can make an accurate list in seconds.now to my favourite topic.i mean this mohamad is very mohamadlicious,prophetlicious,baklicious to mossadlicious because he is totally gay and 007licious.prophet mohamad ( bak be upon him) was once asked to mention his favourite pin girl.i think he said something about jessica alba and honeylicious I PUMPKIN ALBUM LYRICS.ask your moslem friend about the bak-islami for more on this topic.GEORGE.EL>MASRI..some fellow this mohamad bak-allah on him and upon him .i mean esm-allah on him roh ommoh.then he spoke about Demi-moore and the striptise the movie.i told him it was only striptise.he thank me and wrote this one down on his palm with a pen.then he was like ,,and kim cattrall was posing like demi-moore in the poster of the movie i just mentioned.she looks very sharp.you cannot say she was naked,i didn’t know she could be cute.i mean this is mine,she’s mine.he then started to tell us how uncomfortable he feels when watching female wrestling in the WWE and the championship of women wrestling.and that he had sleepless nights every time he watches.that he had to take a cold shower if and when he sees these tapes in the middle of the day.there is also the issue of female kickboxing,the kubate in the philippines where moslem women,the bak-lamisat compete against each other as well as against american females.the infidels.like in angel fist the movie for CAT SASSON where the american kickboxer used to go to a dark cabaret in manilla after her fights to watch her stripper friend.he still doesn’t know exactly why..did she knew and was that what was on the microfilm,his apostles then intervened and carried him away shouting “we know you are going to get us all killed”.i better go to now.so excuse me….again ask your moslem friend about the bak-islami(ISLAMIC BAK MAGIC) for more and more where this came from.this is islamic-bak-magic-satanism i am talking about.this is the cancer.it must be destroyed

Vitória !

Victory !

النصر!

Os dois técnicos da África do Sul presos por não terem permissão para trabalhar no Zimbábue estão de volta em casa.

Eles deixaram com segurança a OR Tambo Internacional apenas depois das 10 horas da noite a bordos de um vôo da SSA (South African Airway) Companhia área da África do Sul.

“Os familiares estão felizes com a sua vitória e emocionados de verem os dois de volta em casa.” disse o diretor financeiro da Globecast Africa, Abdulhak Gardee.

Sipho Maseko e Abdulla Gardee foram presos 27 de Março sob acusação de Acesso a Informação e Proteção dos direitos privados, no qual o governo trabalha com os termos de mídia no Zimbábue.

Eles foram presos depois de facilitarem um link para a CNN nas eleições de 29 de Março naquele país, por que eles não tinham cartão de autorização de mídia, entretanto eles tinham uma carta de autorização habilitando-os a trabalharem legalmente.

Gardee disse que os dois também estavam contentes, mas pareciam mais emocionados.

“A companhia verá qual assistência eles precisam e depois falarão com eles amanhã (terça-feira).”

Os dois foram absolvidos na Segunda-feira, e foram rapidamente encaminhados a embaixada da África do Sul em Harare por terem sidos presos de novo enquanto aguardavam pela devolução de seus passaportes. Notícia original (em inglês): http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=748565

___________________________________________
Parabéns, justiça foi feita !

Pelo menos para variar !

Dit staan ‘n koerantredakteur vry om enige tyd die opinieskywers wat gebruik word te vervang.   Om ‘n opinieskrywer te wees is ‘n werk met hoë status en invloed, maar lae werksekerheid – dis waarvoor jy jou inlaat as jy daardie werk doen.

Iemand soos David Bullard gaan nie more op straat sit omdat hy sy werk by The Times verloor het nie, so mens hoef nie te jammer vir hom te wees nie.
Ek kan insien dat Bullard se manier van skryf beledigend vir swart mense is.  Hy het jare lank so geskryf, ook in die jare dat Mondli Makhanya die redakteur was.  Ek het my aanvanklik verstom daaroor Makhanya dit toelaat.   Maar ek het later begin verstaan dat dit alles gaan oor kontroversie en sirkulasiesyfers.
Toe Bullard begin om met bloggers die spot te dryf, het ek dit geniet.  Hy kon alles en almal behoorlik beledig, en toe hy bloggers beledig was hulle so ontstoke dat hulle byvoorbeeld alles van hom op Muti met ‘bullshitard’ gemerk het.

‘David Bullard is a legend‘  is ‘n oulike stuk oor Bullard se kontroversialiteit.   Maar Bullard se manier van skryf is miskien nie werklik geskik vir SA nie.  Want wit mense sal in  Bullard se laaste stuk bevestiging vir hul vooroordele vind.   Bevestiging van hul aanstootlike aanname dat kolonialisme goed vir swart mense was.   Ek dink Bullard se  punchline van ’someone to blame’ is waaroor die stuk eintlik gaan.  Bullard spot die huidige maghebbers, en dis ‘n goeie ding om te doen.   Maar die inleidende deel is te beledigend, al is hoe ‘n ongekoloniseerde Afrika sou wees regtig die tema nie, is dit hoe 95% van mense dit gaan lees.   Boonop moet iemand wat so skryf almal eweredig laat deurloop.   En ek is bevrees Bullard het wit Engelse, Afrikaners, bloggers en Duitse herdershond eienaars afgeskeep en te veel op die WaBenzi, oftewel die huidge maghebbers gekonsentreer.

Mag mens met swart mense spot?

Ek reken Makhanya het nog altyd so gedink, en daarom aangehou om Bullard te gebruik.   Maar ek vermoed Makhanya het begin dink dit was tyd vir ‘n verandering – miskien het hy gevoel Bullard herhaal homself.  En miskien het hy ‘n nuwe skrywer gevind wat nog meer vir die koerant kan beteken.
En toe lees hy Bullard se laaste stuk en keur dit goed (soos nog altyd) vir publikasie.  Maar ‘n paar dae later dank hy hom af – sogenaamd oor daardie stuk, maar eintlik kan dit nie daaroor wees nie.  Want hy kon lankal vir Bullard aangesê het om anders te skryf of te waai.    Hy kon hom stil-stil laat gaan het omdat Bullard se opinies dalk te veel mense sou afsit om die koerant te koop.  Maar dis glad nie Makhanya se styl nie, want hy weet hoe om self nuus en sensasie te veroorsaak.   Daarom  dank hy hom af met ‘n groot gedoente, en die land gons.
Net soos wat hy byvoorbeeld nuus en sensasie gemaak het met sy “Manto is a drunk and a thief” -opskrif en die sensasie rondom sy (Makhanya se) moontlike arres oor Manto se mediese lêers.

Makhanya slaan ‘n slag teen rassisme, en die sirkulasiesyfers styg alweer.   As ek ‘n koerant besit het sou ek graag Makhanya wou hê as redakteur.