United Kingdom

UK to follow Australian apology for ‘Lost Innocents’?

Julien — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:27:26 +0100

Clontarf Boys Town, outside Perth, Western Australia. Posted by Michael Gormley on his blog.

It was an emotional day for Australia on Monday when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd publicly apologised to the estimated 500,000 children who were abused in government institutions between the 1930s and 1970s - what he called "The absolute tragedy of childhoods lost".

Instead of being adopted or placed in foster care, children aged between three and 14 years-old were placed in institutions where they are reported to have been emotionally, physically and/or sexually abused. About 7,000 to 10,000 of them were child migrants from the UK, known in Australia as the ‘Lost Innocents'.

After Rudd's emotional apology, there are growing calls for the British government to issue a similar admission to the 150,000 youngsters they forcibly shipped to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries. In 1998 an extensive UK parliament report into the programme revealed serious flaws and subsequently, grave consequences. But as yet, no British premier has delivered an official apology.

Spot the difference

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:52:46 +0100

On the left, the US poster for Hollywood comedy romance "Couples Retreat". On the left, the same ad, but redesigned for a UK audience.

Black actors Faizon Love and Kali Hawk have been removed from the scene, along with their names. Filmmakers Universal said the decision was made "To simplify the poster to actors who are most recognisable in international markets".

Two drunks pick a fight with cross-dressing cage-fighters

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:55:18 +0200

This CCTV footage shows a couple of drunks picking fights on the streets of Swansea, Wales. Nothing unusual there then. Until they approach a pair of what they think are transvestites. In fact, the men, dressed in heels, wigs, and hot pants, are two professional cage fighters on their way to a fancy dress stag night.

The drunks notice the cross-dressers at 1:05. Before that we see them fighting with several others, including a man dressed as Spiderman.

The attackers were sentenced this week to a four-month community order, during which they will be electronically tagged. The footage, filmed on August 30, 2009, was shown in court. Meanwhile, the pair from the "Swansea Predators" cage fighting team have become local stars and a hit on YouTube; the footage of their feat has already received over 130,000 views in less than 24 hours.

Make money watching CCTV

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:24:39 +0200

Big Brother is gaining ground in the UK, where citizens are being invited to watch CCTV footage in a "stop thief" type of online game. And it's not only for fun - if they catch a criminal red-handed, they could earn 1,000 pounds.

Internet Eyes invites Web users to help fight crime. Shopkeepers and businesses involved in the project are asked to send their CCTV recordings, live, to the site. The would-be-crime-busting observers then scrutinise the pictures for any suspicious behaviour. If they spot something they think looks dodgy, an alert is sent to the property owner by text message. The company advertises that one can earn up to 1,000 pounds a month, although how many criminals you have to catch to do that remains unexplained.

There are around 4.2 million surveillance cameras in the UK, one for every 14 residents. On average, each Brit is filmed 300 times a day. But this new initiative, planned to launch in November, will no doubt raise concerns over individuals' freedom.

When playing a Facebook game could cost you your job

Team Observers — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:34:26 +0200

Chances are you've heard of Facebook's Lying Down Game, a completely pointless yet wildly popular activity which consists of lying down in random, awkward places, getting your photo taken and posting it on Facebook. Sounds harmless... Until you risk losing your job for it, as seven British hospital staff members found out.

The Lying Down Game was created when Facebook first started, and spread like wildfire on the social networking site. It currently counts 66,294 members. The rules of the game are simple: lie on the floor or any other surface face down with your arms flat against your side and your toes pointing downwards ("Just as if you were standing, but vertically challenged", explains the site), get a friend to take your picture and then post it on Facebook. The more absurd the location the better. The more people involved the better. So far, more than 14,000 people have posted photos on Facebook.

On an escalator in the Orchard Central Mall, Singapore. Posted on Facebook by Vincent Benedict Py Castro.

Seven staff members of the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, England, who called themselves the "Secret Swindon Emergency Department group", posted photos, since removed, of themselves lying down on the hospital's resuscitation trolleys, ward floors and on the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Helipad during a night shift. If they thought it was funny at the time, their management didn't. The unfortunate seven were suspended and face possible dismissal.

Swindon hospital director Dr. Alf Troughton told the BBC that "The Great Western Hospital sets high standards for staff behaviour at all times and therefore takes any such breaches extremely seriously". The case will be examined by a formal disciplinary commission early October, he told France 24.

Do you think the hospital staff's conduct while on duty at a hospital was unacceptable? Give your opinion here.

Millwall vs West Ham carnage - “The police shouldn't have let it happen”

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:02:41 +0200

For the first time in four years, bitter football rivals West Ham and Millwall FC met for "England's most violent derby" on Tuesday. The result: ten arrests, one stabbing, and three invasions of the pitch. Two West Ham fans tell us why they think the police are at fault.

Violent outbursts erupted before, during, and after the Carling Cup match between the East End teams. Held at West Ham's modern Upton Park stadium, 25,000 people turned up for the 7.45pm kick-off. Fights broke out outside the stadium at 6pm and continued until midnight, leading to clashes with riot police, fires being lit and the hurling of bricks and bottles. Meanwhile, fans fought with security stewards inside the stadium and West Ham supporters stormed the pitch for each of the three goals scored by their team. (The end result was 3-1 to West Ham).

An investigation into the violence was launched by the Football Association today. The Football Supporters' Federation however, says that "hysterical reactions" should be avoided.

Can you laugh about suicide bombers?

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:20:40 +0200

An online comedy about a group of Bradford-based Muslim extremists planning a suicide bombing has been released on YouTube. Hilarious or disrespectful? One of our British Muslim Observers gives his reaction.

"Living with the Infidels" is the creation of London-based film-maker Aasaf Ainapore, who says he was born into a Muslim family but is not a believer himself. The blurb goes as follow:

"The series centres around a bumbling, Bradford-based terror cell. Initially set on a path to martyrdom, Yorkshire's jihadi warriors discover the West isn't as bad as it seems. Tempted by the likes of Man U, cable TV and ample Abi upstairs, what's a man to do? Will they find Paradise in the arms of seventy-two virgins, or is Shangri-La [utopia] closer to home, propped up at the bar in The Dog and Duck?"

The series, which launched on 5 August, has come under fire from relatives of suicide bombing victims (particularly 7/7), who consider the subject too sensitive to be laughed over. It has also faced criticism from a Muslim association in Bradford, which claims that it's misrepresentative of Muslim youth. However, not everybody is disappointed. The series has already got a following on Facebook.

Footage that will stop you texting while driving

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:41:47 +0200

"It's all about Cassie Cowan - a nice girl from a nice Gwent valleys family - who kills four people on the road because she used her mobile phone and lost her concentration for a few seconds."

It's with these words that the police force from Gwent, a region of south Wales, introduce their mini horror film. Directed by local lecturer Peter Watkins-Hughes and acted out by amateurs, the scene from a 30 minute educational video for school children, is soon to be broadcast on BBC Wales as an advert.

The somewhat radical strategy comes in response to evidence which proves that 18-24 year-olds' reaction times are 35% slower when reading or writing a text message, meaning that the effects are therefore potentially just as fatal as drink or drug driving. And half of young drivers do it. The message is not falling on deaf ears - the video has already got almost 1.5 million hits on YouTube.

Warning, you may find the video upsetting.

Naming and shaming shoplifters with CCTV footage – legal?

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:20:30 +0200

In an attempt to crack down on shoplifters, a UK storeowner has begun posting CCTV images of suspected thieves on the company's website, along with the incentive of a 500 pound (€580) reward for those who successfully identify thieves. On Saturday, the scheme claimed its first victim. But is it legal?

Early last month directors at Home Bargains discount shopping chain, which operates 190 stores in the United Kingdom, gave instructions to their managers to begin sticking up posters in shop fronts, displaying CCTV images of suspected shoplifters. A few weeks later, an online version of the anti-theft campaign was launched. A page entitled "Crimebusters" was added to the company's website, and eight purported thieves were named and shamed. Just three weeks after the launch, and one of them, whose image has since been removed, was arrested at the weekend.

Home Bargains, which raked in £384m (€446m) in annual revenues last year, says that six million (€6.9m), or the equivalent of 1.5% of revenue, is lost to shoplifting. Operations director Joe Morris says that the new scheme is the store's only way of countering the problem. He assures that the police are aware of and cooperating with the work, and that your mugshot will only go up on the site if the company is "very confident" that you stole from them.

Desperate house sellers

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:35:59 +0200

Image posted by Damon.

Don't bother with doing up your kitchen and painting the front door anymore - just be honest, cut the price in half, maybe throw in a speedboat for free, or tie a donkey up outside to get some attention.

A US-born concept and result of the sub-prime crisis, "extreme house selling" has also now found itself gaining increasing popularity on the economically depressed shores of the United Kingdom. The seller's aim is to get rid of the house as fast as possible in any way legally allowed. Reductions, added extras, media hype... In times of crisis, it's no longer buyers fighting over homes, but sellers who have a battle on their hands.