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_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
Hi there everyone,

After a couple of requests, some consideration and my own rather curvaceous tangent on the thread for the Russian families of the school massacre… I decided to start a thread dedicated to interesting issues in the daily news (or even the daily news itself, anything news-related really… you get the idea).

I’ve done a search and while there’s hundreds of threads for individual news stories, I couldn’t find one for an ongoing discussion of what’s happening in the world around us.

I know lots of people don’t follow the news, but many do, and my opinion is that discussion on current events gives people a better understanding of nations, races and ‘humanity’, for want of a better word.

HoP is in the enviable position of having a really global audience – there can’t be many websites with regular posting members from right across the world, covering such a wide spectrum of cultures, ideas and beliefs. We have the ability to look at events from many different viewpoints, so I thought we should use it.

Anyways, I was thinking we could post, or draw attention to, some of the main stories that affect us on a daily basis…

Btw, I really don’t want this to become an America-bashing thread (or any other type of bashing). I think most of us share the view that the American government are fairly appalling at the minute, and while criticism will definitely happen, I don’t want any Americans on the site to feel victimised or that pro-Bush types feel their views aren’t valid. Try to keep all the views considered and, if possible, sourced.

So anyways, let me know what you think…

A couple of interesting stories I picked up on today were:

Indonesia has become the latest nation to join the war on terrorism following the car bomb at the Australian embassy which killed 9 people and injured 180… I heard an Indonesian government official (I think it was the spokesman for the Indonesian foreign ministry) say they are 'now ready to join the war on terror', after it was alleged the ‘militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah’ were responsible. (sorry, am about to leave work and couldn't find a source... will try to get it tomorrow).

Also, US secretary of state Colin Powell has declared the situation in Sudan a genocide:
https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3641820.stm

It seems the countries are busy arguing over the term ‘genocide’ as opposed to actually getting out there with aid and peacekeeping forces.

Anyways, I’d be interested to hear anyone’s opinions on these stories… as well as anything else you’d like to bring up…

Thanks
take care
Clare xox

Getting to the other side smile


StoutBRONZE Member
Pooh-Bah
1,872 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
Oh yea Phelps. You know, he got sued for 10.9 million last year and he's only worth about a million. Maybe he should watch The Secret because so far God hasn't come through. wink

FireTomStargazer
6,650 posts

Posted:
...Ghandis grandson on the actual situation of Jews in Israel...

the best smiles are the ones you lead to wink


StoneGOLD Member
Stream Entrant
2,829 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
Bear convicted of stealing honey


A Macedonian court convicted a bear of theft and damage for stealing honey from a beekeeper who fought off the attacks with thumping "turbo-folk" music.

If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh


Bubbles_SILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,384 posts
Location: mancunian, United Kingdom


Posted:
Mayor Bans Villagers From Dying

he has 'threatened "severe" punishment for anyone who disobeys...'

Disclaimer:im not responsible for what i say or do whether it be before,during and after drinking alcoholic substances (owned by BMVC).
Creater of Jenisms(TM)
Virginity like bubble,one prick all gone.


StoneGOLD Member
Stream Entrant
2,829 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
Cheney camp 'behind Syrian reactor claim

“US Government allegations that North Korea helped Syria build a nuclear reactor have been greeted with scepticism because of their timing.

Israeli jets bombed the alleged site in Syria's eastern desert last September.

Today, after months of whispers, the White House publicly claimed that the target of the strike was a nuclear reactor.

It said the reactor was being built with North Korean help and was not intended for peaceful purposes.

US intelligence officials said the reactor had been close to becoming operational when it was destroyed.”



Well, sorry guys after the Weapons of Mass destruction lie, who wouldn’t be skeptical?

If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh


_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
Three sad stories today:

DUP (Democratic Unionist Party - Northern Ireland) sell out (for £1m of paramilitary reclaimed wealth) to support horrendous Labour campaign to impose 42-day internment (bill passes by 9 votes).

In case you don't understand what this means - the police now have the power to arrest you for ANYTHING THEY SUSPECT TO BE TERRORIST RELATED and hold you in prison for 42 days, without charge, without telling anyone.

This power was in force in Northern Ireland during the dark days of the Troubles and many Catholics were lifted off the streets, under nothing more than a 'suspicion'.

More news here:
https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7449268.stm


Idiot government official leaves records of Al-Qaeda suspects on train (again!!)
https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7449255.stm


26 Dolphins killed by suspected navy training near Falmouth:
https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/7445786.stm

Getting to the other side smile


daisydungeonnewbie
3 posts

Posted:
So the Navy ARE suspects for the dolphins! I had thought that ever since I first heard that story - there are many Navy installations in the area.
Well, I hope they feel proud.

BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
Oh, but it's like totally okay with the 42 days, because any day more than 28 you're imprisoned wrongly you'll get compensation! - In other words, it's completely ok for someone to be imprisoned for 28 days without a charge, and you won't even be compensated, given that after all you MIGHT have been a terrorist. Funny, given that the limit was 24 hours not too long ago...

Also I'm sure we really needed this law in the UK because there has been SUCH an increase in terrorist attacks since the time was extended to 28 days... Gah.

And about the Al Qaeda stuff - isn't it interesting that the information is labelled "for UK/US/Canadian and Australian eyes only"? Does that mean that Al Qaeda is only a threat to English-speaking countries (but not Ireland and New Zealand) and the rest of us can take bottles on the planes again? Surely if there's an international terrorist organisation that the USA and UK tried, not so long ago, to get everyone to fight and pass new laws against, then everyone should be informed of new intelligence about them?

Maybe that's why it was left on the tube then. Not incompetence, but informing tourists in London on the threats wink

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half


The Tea FairySILVER Member
old hand
853 posts
Location: Behind you...


Posted:
ubblol Well said, Dr Birgit!

Idolized by Aurinoko

Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind....

Bob Dylan


_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
Just saw this in tonight's paper!!



Sad news... Possibly an aerialist?





A WOMAN has died during a practice run for an arts festival in Co Donegal. The 30-year-old from England was killed after a model globe which she was suspended from fell from a crane in Lurgybrac near Letterkenny at around 3pm yesterday. A Garda spokesman said there was no suspicious circumstances.

Getting to the other side smile


_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
more news on the English aerialist:

Gardaí and the Health and Safety Authority are investigating the death of a woman who was crushed to death in Co Donegal while rehearsing for an art performance.

The woman (30) was a member of a touring British group that was practicing for an aerial display that involves a large metal globe suspended from a crane.

She died when part of the display became detached from the crane and she was crushed beneath the globe.

The accident took place outside Lurgybrack National School, about three kilometres outside Letterkenny, where the Fidget Feet Performance Company had been storing their equipment following their performance at the Old Town Fair in Letterkenny during the August Bank Holiday weekend.


Sad frown

Getting to the other side smile


Pink...?BRONZE Member
Mistress of Pink...Multicoloured
6,140 posts
Location: Over There, United Kingdom


Posted:
That woman was one of us frown



She practised in my building, her boyfriend (and the rigger - it wasn't his fault) works here. Everyone is shell shocked by this. Our riggers here who were good friends of her are walking around crying - if anyone has ever seen big strong men cry you can appreciate how horrible it is.



She will be missed.



Apparently she was testing the bungey and the bungey jumped itself loose, then the saftey line didn't work. Someone else had gone up before her, and tested it and it was fine. It was freak accident. And I know how well Bryan & Jo do their rigging, it wasn't their fault.

Never pick up a duck in a dungeon...


willworkforfoodjnrSILVER Member
Hunting robot foxes
1,046 posts
Location: Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England (UK)


Posted:
Thats terrible - consolations to everyone affected by this tragedy frown

Working hard to be a wandering hippie layabout. Ten years down, five to go!


Pink...?BRONZE Member
Mistress of Pink...Multicoloured
6,140 posts
Location: Over There, United Kingdom


Posted:
More about Emma's death...

We had a lovely email go round which I thought I would share with you.

Circus & Emma Insley 1978 – 2008



A message from Bryan Donaldson (High Performance Rigging)



Everything that has been said, has been said. The support everyone has shown to Joe comes as no surprise to me whatsoever. This couldn’t have happened to a less deserving couple.

I received a call from an incredibly distraught Joe on Wednesday 20th of August shortly after 3pm. My initial reaction was one that every single person had on first receiving the news....... disbelief.

I made my second priority that of securing the truth, my first being Joe’s immediate welfare. It was quickly established that the paramedics, local police and Health & Safety Authority Investigators were the first on the scene. Nothing was contaminated and all the relevant pieces of equipment were secured. I liaised with all those present who witnessed the incident and also the head investigator for the HSA. Procedure was correctly followed for the implementation and assembly (in other words, rigging) and all the equipment used that belonged to Fidget Feet was 100% compliant with regulations and legislation. This was a one in a million freak accident and is just that; a freak accident. I don’t want to appear on a soapbox but at the same time I do not want and will not tolerate hearing any untruths being spoken and therefore wish to establish this as record.

This could have been and in many instances would have been me in the situation that Joe has now found himself in. With my hand on my heart I can say that I wouldn’t have done anything differently, and instead of Joe, it would have been me in that position, having to explain myself to him as to why Emma was no longer with us.

In 1994 I lost my best friend and working partner in an accident. We were performing an aerial act called the ‘Wheel of Death’ together at the Blackpool Tower Circus on Boxing Day. The second performance of the day saw my partner Neville Campbell fall from the wheel and result in an immediate and fatal injury. We were both in our early 20’s at the time and I learnt a slow, difficult and yet honest lesson: Risk remains and will always be the nature of our business, regardless of what we do to make things as safe as possible. When we work as aerialists a large part of our paying public come to see the daring and the danger and marvel at seeing people do what quite often seems humanly not possible and beyond most mere mortals. We put every procedure in place to eliminate those risks, yet, if it was honestly that simple then it wouldn’t be circus. As artists we are and should always be aware that this is and will always remain a very real element of our work.





A message from Jym and Chantal (Fidget Feet)



How many people can truly say they love their job and that they are actually happy in their life? Emma Insley joyfully yelled "I hate my job!" as she sat back to back with her friend Chantal on a giant representation of the Earth as it lifted into the Donegal skies. The two were obviously so incredibly happy. Emma was like this whether on the ground or in the air, which is where she spent a lot of her life as a very talented dance/circus aerialist.



She was as developed a human being as she was an aerialist, she brought everyone out of themselves and into the party that was her life, accepting them so fully and completely just as they were that everyone felt accepted and comfortable with her. Emma was the kind of person you could only love, because that is all she gave out. Despite being one of the most accomplished aerialists on the scene, she never took herself as serious as her abilities would definitely have justified. As a high flying lady, she was in the fullest sense also one of the most grounded of us.



Emma has worked with and for Fidget Feet for many years and is a most cherished and beloved friend of the directors Chantal and Jym. All three of us have worked together both in Fidget Feet and for other similar companies. Emma has always been a bright spark and a boon to any gig, we all loved to get work together. We all were respectful of the dangers of this kind of work, but even traveling to work by any kind of transport was also a danger, and rather than deny doing what we loved, we all faced those dangers and helped each other through them. Emma faced this challenge in her life with courage and great generosity, helping others to get the right techniques to deal with situations they might face in their work. Many times I have seen her with her arm around a distraught colleague, plagued with self doubt or fear and telling them how great they were and what to do to make it work better for them, punching them playfully on the arm and sending them out to face their challenge with a hearty shout of "don't worry about it mate, you’re f%$king brilliant"!



On the day of Emma's accident she was as lively and excited about her work as ever, she was playing the part of Gaia, spirit of the earth, and was delighting in the role, hamming it up as the star of the show and making us all laugh. Emma had been as lucky in love as she was in her choice of what she spent her life working at. At seventeen she met her soul-mate Joe Hull and they had been together since. Joe was part of this gig too as he was at many of her gigs. Our heart goes out to Joe as he was there at the accident. This kind of pain should not happen to anyone, and the depth of it can only be imagined.



What happened remains unknown, there are no broken parts to the mechanics involved, all we are left with is the fact that we have lost a dear and precious friend, her loss has caused a sea of remorse from friends all around the world. All we can say now is that Emma would never have given up the choice to fly in her life, and we respect and celebrate that courageous, full and beautiful life. Emma we love you deeply and forever..........



A message from Joe Hull



My life with Emma started in 95 when we met at Circus Space and we have been inseparable ever since. Em was strong, creative, determined the most amazing person. Her smile, humour, energy, the way that she went forwards with great passion for everything she did, I will miss all of these things more than I can express. I am so lucky to have had the time that we had together and Em is still here guiding me through this our most difficult time just as she had guided me through our lives.

I’ve been helped and supported greatly by Emma’s beautiful family John, Joan and Nikki who have been bright lights and the rocks that are lit by them in a very dark place, I can’t begin to understand what they must be feeling at this time. My friends and incredible family have given me love, comfort, company, shoulders to cry on and space when I’ve needed it. Chantal, Jym and the whole McCormick family have offered, provided and continue to give us a lot of love and support. To everyone for being there, helping me to try and understand and for continuing to help me find some kind of reason or answer, thankyou. This tragic thing has brought everyone involved closer together and made them stronger and these relationships will live on. Good things must and will come from this.

The messages, phone calls, emails and thoughts have re-enforced everything I know and felt about Em, they have given us strength, love and have been a great healer. Em would want us all to pause and then move on, It feels like I have spent as much time laughing as I have crying, sharing stories about her and our memories of her. I sometimes feel I’m on the top of a wave and at peace and at other times like I’m crashing around underneath them not being able to make myself heard how ever loud I shout, as time goes on I will get better at riding these waves and will move on to higher heights and mountain tops. The wind will keep blowing but the branches won’t snap, like strong oaks we will find solid ground again.

Never pick up a duck in a dungeon...


Pink...?BRONZE Member
Mistress of Pink...Multicoloured
6,140 posts
Location: Over There, United Kingdom


Posted:
Ok for some lighter, funnier news -

https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7607460.stm
!!!

Never pick up a duck in a dungeon...


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
laugh3 laugh3 laugh3 laugh3 laugh3

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


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