Rule Breaking
THE MOD ARE INVESTIGATING THE TALIBAN ‘TROPHY’ PHOTOGRAPHS
One senior military commander has already defended the soldiers’ “understandable joy”
(Photo from LiveLeak)
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The RAF servicemen pictured in recent “trophy” photos from Afghanistan have been withdrawn from frontline duties while the Ministry of Defence carries out an investigation.
The photographs were taken at Camp Bastion in Helmand province after a 2012 fire-fight that left two US marines and over a dozen Taliban members dead.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a senior British military commander, defended the soldiers’ actions, saying that while he did not condone “this sort of behaviour”, the RAF members “had been under threat of their lives” and were experiencing an “understandable joy at seeing that their enemy – who were trying to kill them a short time before – [were] no longer alive”.
He added that “a great deal of much worse things” have happened in Afghanistan, and said that the photographs weren’t likely to “cause huge outrage” there.
Changing the World
THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DID SOME HASHTAG ACTIVISM
And was accused of completely missing the point
(Screenshot from the BBC)
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Nigeria’s missing schoolgirls were snatched by extremist Islamist group Boko Haram almost a month ago.
The country’s government have been criticised for their sluggish response to the abductions, but the good news is that somebody’s started a Twitter hashtag to raise awareness for what is currently one of the world’s most widely reported news stories.
Celebrities have been taking photos of themselves with print-outs of the hashtag, and Anne Hathaway even shouted the phrase at traffic in LA, clearly aware that the fight to get these girls home starts with Californian commuters.
David Cameron has now also got himself involved, tweeting that he is “proud to support” the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
Of course, what he (and Michelle Obama) seems to have missed – and as Twitter pointed out to him immediately – is that the reason people start these campaigns is to get figures like prime ministers and presidents to do something about whatever cause they’re championing.
Talking about the issue, Cameron said, “We can’t just pile in and do whatever we would like […] but it is good that efforts are being stepped up and we will do what we can.”
Wealth Inequality
THE UK HAS MORE BILLIONAIRES PER CAPITA THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY
And London has far more than any other city in the world
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According to the 2014 Sunday Times Rich List, the UK has more billionaires per capita than any other country.
There are now 104 billionaires – including Lakshmi Mittal and the Duke of Westminster – living in Britain, with a combined wealth of more than £301 billion.
London, according to the list, has by far the most billionaires per capita of any other city – 72 compared to 48 in Moscow, its nearest competitor.
None of this information will really affect you, of course, unless you work in high-end property or the luxury car industry, or are a vocal denier of wealth inequality.
In other billionaire news, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg pledged last week to give away half of her $1 billion (£593 million) fortune during her life or upon her death as part of the Giving Pledge, a philanthropic club for billionaires started by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates.
Britain’s Favourite Drugs
THERE WAS COCAINE FOUND IN THE UK WATER SUPPLY
Which might be a sign that people are doing too much cocaine
(Photo by Chris Bethell)
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Britain is doing so much cocaine that trace amounts of the drug have now made their way into the UK drinking water supply.
In a study to determine how damaging the pharmaceutical compounds present in our drinking water could be, experts from the Drinking Water Inspectorate found benzoylecgonine, the metabolised form of cocaine that appears once it has passed through the body, in purified samples of drinking water.
Steve Rolles, from drug policy think-tank Transform, said, “We have the near highest level of cocaine use in western Europe,” which is pretty evident from the fact it’s still showing up in water that’s been purified to the point of being legally drinkable.
A recent report from Public Health England stated that the quantities of cocaine found are “unlikely to present a risk to health”.
Pick-Up Artists
A DATING SHOW CONTESTANT ADMITTED TO KILLING TWO FORMER PARTNERS
Want to charm a beautiful young lady? Easy: brag about murdering two women
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A contestant on a Turkish dating show was booed off after claiming that he killed two women,
Sefer Calinak said that he had killed his first wife because he was “irritated” by her behaviour, before meeting a woman who he said was after his money, who was “accidentally killed when I swung an axe”.
He also said: “I am an honest person looking for a new wife,” but by this point his honesty had presumably obliterated any chance of him finding a new wife and he was asked to leave the show.
The 62-year-old told the audience that he had served prison sentences for both murders but had been freed under an amnesty programme both times.
