Month: September 2007

Many years ago, in Britain, I was an Inspector for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. One day I received a communication from my Headquarters directing me to visit – with a view to prosecution – an elderly couple who had inadvertently left their pet dog in a car on a hot summer’s day, while on holiday in the south of England. When I contacted the couple I found them utterly distraught. The loss of their beloved pet, through circumstances not deliberate, but certainly due to their unfortunate actions, was tearing them apart.

My Headquarters insisted I return a “case-file” on the couple. This meant they would most likely be prosecuted for leaving their dog in the car in a manner “likely to cause unnecessary suffering”, the prerequisite for an offense under the relevant legal statute.

I refused. In my opinion, for any act to be a crime requires intent. This couple had not intended to cause their loved pet suffering, the whole incident was no more than an unfortunate accident. I was disciplined for refusing to obey orders, but stuck to my guns and to this day believe I was right.

Yesterday, on the NBC Nightly News, anchor, Brian Williams, introduced a segment of the program with the words:

“What punishment is appropriate for the woman who made the the worst mistake a mother can make?”

Brenda Slaby’s two year old daughter died in a car yesterday because her harassed mother forgot she was there. Slaby, an assistant principal at an Ohio school, collected doughnuts for a school meeting then went into school forgetting her daughter was still in the back seat.

NBC Nightly News, and no doubt a number of other insensitive media channels, then proceeded to run clips of this mother’s agony in a police station while being interviewed for a possible offense. Thankfully, sanity reigned, and Brenda Slaby was not subjected to the further agonies of a criminal prosecution, only the continuous and prolonged scrutiny of three hundred million Americans via unscrupulous media channels determined to wring every last ounce from this personal family tragedy.

The lack of any dignity offered to human beings undergoing the exquisite personal torments of family trauma, has long been a source of intense disgust to this visitor to America’s shores. Sadly, it is not only the corporate media who are to blame. Individual blogs are vying for the opportunity to condemn this unfortunate woman for nothing more than the crime of being human.

How many of us can look at the Brenda Slaby case and not say, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”?

It could happen to any one of us. Particularly in this nation where attempting to do too much, for too many, is considered a veritable virtue.

NBC Nightly News, and the other media channels who unashamedly ran footage of this mother’s agony, have plumbed new depths in degradation and bad taste. It leaves one wondering if there is any segment of human misery left that they are not prepared to plunder for the sake of their precious ratings.

But then, their ratings are determined by the numbers of Americans who watch, and approve.

Filed under: Quick to condemn

In case anyone hadn’t noticed, APEC – the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum – is taking place in Sydney, Australia, this week. A number of national leaders are there, including US President George Bush, Australian premier John Howard, China’s Hu Jintao, and eighteen others.

We will never know what is discussed. There will be press releases from time to time, but what they want us to hear is all that will ever be broadcast for public consumption.

Sydney is a city under lock-down. Part of the rail network is closed, as are many roads. A huge, three mile long, metal barrier has been erected shutting off Sydney’s business district where the leaders will be staying. Over 5,000 police and troops are on duty patrolling the streets.

From whom are they being protected, these twenty-one world leaders?

Terrorists with bombs?

Not at all. While terrorism is a slight threat, the reason for this mammoth security operation is to protect these world leaders from their own citizens. In other words, ordinary people like you and me.

Protesters from all over the world have gathered in the Australian city. A Sydney court is deciding whether a planned march by 5,000 people and organized by the “Stop Bush Coalition”, can go ahead on Saturday. Members of the banned One Sydney brothel is offering an Apec special called The Presidential Platter, which apparently includes a variety of pleasures.spiritual movement Falun Gong, have traveled from China to hold vigils protesting human rights abuses in that country.

While, no doubt, rent-a-mob will infiltrate many of the protests and try to create mayhem, most of the people protesting in Sydney this week are just ordinary members of society, like you and I.

It begs two questions: 1) what does it say about our leaders, and 2) what does it say about us?

The answer to the first question is easy. It takes no mental effort to calculate that our leaders have no interest in our welfare. Our only use, in their eyes, is as economic units. We won’t ever know what they discuss this week in Sydney, but we can sure it will not include plans for making more agreeable the lives of ordinary people, like you and I. They have proved themselves unwilling to assist the plight of millions in Darfur, Palestine, and other areas of conflict around the world. They have created the situation in Iraq purposefully to obtain economic advantage. The opium (heroin) crop in Afghanistan is the highest this year on record, since US and NATO forces took over the country.

All in all, our so-called ‘leaders’ are totally unfit to lead.

Nevertheless, the toil and sweat of heady negotiation this week will be well assuaged by the “laid-on” entertainment. In fact, the term “laid-on” is highly apt, given that Sydney’s brothels and sex providers have geared up for a busy week.

According to a BBC report:

“One establishment said it was expecting business to boom and had been receiving overseas telephone inquiries for weeks.”

The report continues:

“The big question that prospective brothel clients from overseas have been asking is not about the price but how discreet a visit could be during this high-profile international conference.

A brothel industry spokesman said complimentary services would not be available but suggested that there might be an Apec discount.

One Sydney brothel is offering an Apec special called The Presidential Platter, which apparently includes a variety of pleasures.”

The second question begged was: what does all this say about us?

I’ll leave you to answer that one.

BBC report on APEC HERE.

BBC report on Sydney sex trade HERE.

Filed under: Best failures

……..a great and glorious sound that reverberated around this planet. It lifted the soul; brought tears of joyous emotion; lightened the heart, search and captivated the mind.

Now, thumb it has gone forever.

Rest in Peace, unhealthy Luciano Pavarotti.

Filed under: Great artists